APM Terminals, an international container terminal operating company, has closed the acquisition of Reefer Terminal S.p.A., an Italian refrigerated container terminal. Terms and price of the deal were not disclosed.

Reefer Terminal, the largest refrigerated terminal in the Mediterranean for more than thirty years handling 600,000 pallets per year, is also a world-class terminal for the handling of containers (275,000 TEU, 510 reefer plugs, 14.5 meter depth and 465 meter of quay) and general cargo.

APM Terminals has acquired the Vado Ligure Reefer Terminal as part of the port master plan to create new supply chains to markets in Northern Italy, Southern France, Switzerland and Bavaria.  The Reefer Terminal is located adjacent to the construction site of the APM Terminals Vado port project which will open in January 2018 with 800,000 TEU annual capacity and a 17 meter depth to serve the vessels of the future.

Reefer Terminal will continue to operate as a terminal highly specialized in the discharge and warehousing of fresh fruit and vegetable produce.

The Ligurian coast is a major entry point for refrigerated palletized fresh fruit into Northern Italy. The Vado Reefer Terminal has four rail tracks which will be linked to the off-dock rail facility being constructed as part of the APM Terminals Vado container terminal with direct access to interior destinations through an environmentally advantageous intermodal rail service.

APM Terminals Vado CEO Carlo Merli stated:

"The integration of the Vado Reefer Terminal with our new, future semi-automated container terminal enhances the logistics options for businesses and the shipping lines calling the Ligurian coast, serving all of Northern Italy and beyond. We are building Italy's port of the future with ideal access to Turin and Northern Italy manufacturing zones as well as consumer markets. Equally important, we will have the best port system and product in the market capable of serving container vessels, reefer vessels, RoRo and breakbulk vessels."

GF Group President Raffaella Orsero commented:

"This sale represents a further step in the process of refocusing on our historical business of import and distribution of fruit and vegetable produce. We will however remain a Reefer Terminal customer with our weekly Central American service, operated with four GF Group owned refrigerated vessels. We are delighted to hand over the baton to a key operator like APM Terminals and we are sure that they will continue at the highest level of professionalism guaranteeing further development."

Mr. Merli added:

"We are excited to introduce a new, better way to serve global supply chains with our reefer terminal and its ideal fit with our deepwater container terminal. The APM Terminals Vado facility will be the only port in Italy able to handle Ultra-Large Container Ships (ULCS) of over 18,000 TEU capacity when it opens in January 2018."