ACE Logistics’ expansion is linked to a new 4,360 square metre cross-dock terminal on the outskirts of Kaunas. It is expected to increase the company’s operational capacity and broaden the range of cargo handling.
“We currently have terminals in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. The terminal in Kaunas will be a big step forward. It will be a narrow and low-rise cross-dock terminal with many loading gates, designed for the redistribution of cargo but not for warehousing,” explains the Managing Director.
VŽ wrote that this type of terminal has been used in Lithuania for several years by Delamode Baltics, one of the leaders in logistics, as well as by DPD Lietuva, and Raben and other companies that redistribute shipments.
ACE Logistics has chosen a site on the outskirts of Kaunas, close to the Free Economic Zone (FEZ) and right next to the Lidl logistics centre for its new facility.
“We were considering whether or not to choose an LEZ. In the end, we chose not to go there and one of the reasons was the form of ownership. Here we are the owners of the land and the LEZ can only be rented for 99 years. Since our owners are private individuals who are quite close to the business, they decided that it was important”, explains the Director.
He says the planned investment will be up to 7 million EUR.
“Some of the funds will be our own and some will be borrowed. Preliminary talks have been held with banks, and it is possible that we will use banks that are not necessarily based in Lithuania for financing. Our main office is in Estonia, so we will see where the conditions are better,” says I. Puluikis. – Banks are wary of warehouses, but we haven’t had a negative response before. Maybe it’s because we are going to finance a large part of the construction ourselves.”
The terminal is now in the design phase, he says, with construction expected to start this year and an opening in the middle or late next year.
“It is possible that Kaunas will be a central terminal and Vilnius a regional one. We will have more space with both and will be able to handle both vehicles and containers more quickly,” explains the Director. He also hopes that the new terminal will allow the entry into the segment of larger partial loads.
This year, ACE Logistics’ Managing Director says he expects turnover growth of around 10%.
“Of course, the beginning of this year cannot be compared to last year, when the post-pandemic upturn was felt. We have a sluggish start to the year – and it is still after a sluggish Christmas. The Chinese New Year has also dragged on somehow, and information from maritime companies suggests that the year will not be active yet,” says Puluikis. – Therefore, we think that the first half of the year will not be good. But we expect that autumn should bring some recovery.”
In this context, he explains the 10% growth forecast in terms of normal organic growth.
“If you don’t spoil anything, you grow with the growing market. If you add more effort, you grow more,” he smiles. – In addition, we expect exports to grow by another 15-20%.”
