Unifeeder, the largest European operator of feeder and shortsea container shipping services, has announced this week the appointment of Nils Smedegaard Andersen, former Group Chief Executive Officer of A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S, as new Chairman of the Board of Directors. At this post, he succeeds former Hapag-Lloyd CCO Jesper Præstensgaard who takes up the position as Deputy Chairman.
Today Nils Smedegaard Andersen works as a professional board member and strategic adviser to Nordic Capital Funds, a private equity investor which in 2013 acquired Unifeeder from Montagu Private Equity. He also serves as Non-Executive Director at BP plc, Non-Executive Director at Unilever as well as Chairman of the Board of international retail group, Dansk Supermarked A/S.
Commenting on his new position, Nils Smedegaard Andersen says: ”I am excited by this opportunity. Unifeeder is a well-run company, fulfilling an important role as partner to both global liner shipping companies and industrial customers across Europe. Unifeeder has significantly expanded its network and service offering in recent years and I look forward to working with management to further strengthening Unifeeder’s market position by building closer customer relationships and developing the service offering, while considering entering into new markets, possibly through M&A.”
Indeed, since the acquisition by Nordic Capital in 2013 the company has grown to become the largest independent Pan-European feeder and shortsea operator with the industry’s best connected network, spanning 96 ports in Northern and Western Europe, the Mediterranean, including North Africa and the Middle East, as well as the Black Sea. This development has been gained through acquisitions and investments in new shared services centers, regional restructuring, various operational improvement initiatives and a focus on organic revenue growth.
In 2017, Unifeeder expects an over 10% growth in volumes and an even higher growth in earnings driven by economies of scale, high capacity utilization and process and IT optimization.
