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DUNKERQUE-PORT LAYING THE FIRST STONE OF THE NORFRIGO WAREHOUSE
22nd november 2019

373_First_Stone_Norfrigo_EN

On Friday, November 22, Stéphane Raison, Chair of the Dunkerque-Port Executive Committee, Eric Rommel, Mayor of Loon-Plage, Antoine Le Garrec, Managing Director of NORFRIGO and Stanislas Lemor, Chairman and CEO of the STEF group proceeded to lay the first stone of the NORFRIGO warehouse, located in the logistics area of the West Port of Dunkerque.

NORFRIGO – the name of the alliance between the Le Garrec family group and Boulogne-based seafood specialist, and STEF group, the European leader in temperature-controlled logistics – has decided to set up a new cold-storage unit in the logistics area on the west port of Dunkerque. The location has the advantage of being close to the Container Terminal and the Border Inspection Post.

Specializing in seafood logistics, the Le Garrec group has always opted to establish its premises in the port area, as in Le Havre with CAP GEL or Boulogne-sur-Mer with NORFRIGO, in order to optimize its position with respect to the import/export flows of the sector. 

Their new warehouse will have a capacity of 48,000 m3, or 10,400 pallets, and will be extensible. It will absorb part of the flow of imports for NORFRIGO's trading / importer customers and thus offer a complementary service to that already provided in Boulogne-sur-Mer. 10 to 15 jobs will be created.

According to Antoine Le Garrec - President of the "fishing and service" branch of the Le Garrec et Cie Group:

""There is a real interest for our importing customers:

-  for economic reasons, especially in terms of haulage costs,

- to benefit from the administrative facilities enabled by optimized cooperation with the Veterinary Services and the Customs authorities,

-  for reasons of fluidity and reliability.

 In addition, an eventual BREXIT and the modification of the French tax rules on imports of sea products with the abolition of the parafiscal charge at 0.27% (2019 finance law) are all opportunities. That abolition should create an in-draught for imports to the domestic market, and the port of Dunkerque, due to its position near Boulogne-sur-Mer (# 1 marketplace for European seafood processing), will become the ideal EU entry point for importers, traders and industrialists (due to the reduction in forwarding costs).

The flexibility of the Port of Dunkerque in its overall operation, as well as its reliability are also assets that fully justify the presence of our logistics services. This development of NORFRIGO will allow us to secure our business in Boulogne-sur-Mer and diversify our service offering while expanding the geographical scope of our business thanks to the new site in Dunkerque."

For Stanislas Lemor, Chairman and CEO of the STEF Group: "NORFRIGO's new facility in Dunkerque is the result of a further step in our partnership.  It allows us to offer the market a new local logistics service that in terms of quality and diversity is fully in line with the expectations of the industrial players and importers in the agri-foodstuffs sector.  It not only reflects the convergence of economic and political teamwork, but will also promote this great marketplace for all things seaborne".

Stéphane Raison, President of the Executive Board of Dunkerque-Port is delighted: "We thank the Le Garrec Group and the STEF Group for choosing our port to set up this new NORFRIGO unit. Dunkerque-Port, for some years, has been recognized for the processing of temperature-controlled products. Further to the developments and changes in terms of shipping and inspection services, we have seen stronger interest from importers of meat and seafood products. We are clearly focusing on logistics for all of these temperature-controlled product lines, since the resources and facilities are needed to store them. NORFRIGO will support our own growth and will expand Dunkerque's current logistics offering."

Attached file
373_First_Stone_Norfrigo_EN - PDF (212.68 Kb)
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Marie-Elizabeth Bogucki

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Email: mebogucki@portdedunkerque.fr