BLG Logistics Group

Few logistics firms can point to a founding date in the 1870s, but BLG Logistics Group dates from 1877, when it was set up as the Bremer Lagerhaus-Gesellschaft. It began as a company running port warehousing in Bremen and is now a seaport and logistics business with close to 100 locations and more than 10,000 colleagues in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Its website, written mainly in German, describes it as a global provider with more than 140 years behind it.

Building a logistics set-up from one source

The group says its most demanding discipline is contract logistics: planning and running an entire logistics architecture for a customer, from the producer to the retailer. Customers are largely industrial. The site mentions plug-and-play sites such as the one at Ochtrup and a large, ecologically designed logistics centre in Bremen that the company calls C3, built for an automotive customer and opening in 2022. Value added services, from technical processing to finishing, are described as the final touch that makes the chain more useful to everyone in it.

Cars from factory to dealer

Automotive logistics is a signature field. BLG says it covers the whole process, including rail transport and terminals, and the group's report for 2020 counted almost five million vehicles handled, transported or technically processed across its network. Bremerhaven is presented as one of the largest car hubs in the world, and a rail terminal at Falkenberg marked ten years in 2021 as a junction for car transport by train.

Ports, terminals and heavy cargo

The company operates seaport facilities and inland terminals, including one at Ahlhorn. A heavy-lift and project cargo business handles large single loads, and a recent report describes one of the biggest single shipments in the history of the Neustadt port in Bremen, for a manufacturer of presses. The group also mentions investment in site development in the Hamburg port and a new mobile harbor crane for project and heavy goods. EUROGATE, named on the site as a leading container terminal operator on the North Range, appears in connection with its network.

Returns, sustainability and aid

Other services include returns management for goods sent back by customers. Under the label Mission Klima the group sets out its route toward climate neutrality and decarbonisation, and its magazine describes practical examples of green logistics. Since 2012 it has supported a major international humanitarian institution with logistics expertise in the fight against hunger.

BLG Logistics Group, formally the Bremer Lagerhaus-Gesellschaft, is a seaport and logistics business founded in 1877. It runs a worldwide network of sites and designs supply chain services for industrial customers.

What BLG Logistics Group does

• Contract logistics: builds and runs a complete logistics set-up for a customer, from production to the retailer.
• Automotive logistics: covers the whole vehicle logistics process, including rail transport and terminals.
• Port and terminal handling: operates seaport facilities, heavy-lift and project cargo handling, and inland terminals.
• Supply chain services: a wide range of services for many kinds of goods.
• Returns management: handles goods sent back by customers.

Who it works with

The group serves industrial and automotive customers as well as retail and trade clients. Its terminals and logistics centres also serve project cargo and other manufacturers.

Key facts

• Based in: Bremen, Germany
• Founded: 1877
• Team: more than ten thousand employees
• Network: nearly 100 sites in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia
• Sustainability: publishes work on a climate-focused logistics centre in Bremen