Shetland Transport bought over by Danes

WELL-KNOWN local company Shetland Transport has been taken over by the Copenhagen-based shipping and logistics group DFDS.

The sale of the company, owned by Kathleen and Hamish Balfour, was completed on Monday.

All 55 employees will transfer to DFDS, and Hamish Balfour will continue to manage the Lerwick operation “for the foreseeable future”.

However, Shetland Transport will change its name to DFDS Shetland as it integrates into the DFDS Group’s Logistics Division, which offers services throughout the UK, Ireland and the European continent.

DFDS’ executive vice president, Eddie Green, said the acquisition strengthened the company’s logistics network in Scotland.

“I welcome the 55 staff of Shetland Transport to DFDS, and I am confident that together we will be able to enhance the service of our many customers and be able to offer an even more complete service,” Green said.

The company’s vice president Steve Macaulay added that DFDS had already an established network in Scotland serving the needs of the seafood industry.

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“This is the core activity for us in Scotland, and the acquisition of Shetland Transport is seen as an extension of that,” he said.

“We are constantly looking for opportunities to grow the business, and we have known Shetland Transport and Hamish Balfour for quite some years.

“We know him to run a good business and obviously he is coming to a time when thinking about retirement, although we are pleased to say that he has agreed to stay with us for certainly the foreseeable future.”

Macauley added that acquiring all of the shares of a major islands logistics companies at this time was not connected to the upcoming tendering process for the Northern Isles ferry contract.

Shetland Transport has a turnover of £10 million and operates a fleet of 128 trailers and 28 trucks that primarily transports fresh fish under temperature controlled conditions from the Shetland and Orkney to mainland UK.

The company also operates distribution centres in Aberdeen and Coatbridge.

Meanwhile, DFDS has warehousing and distribution centres in Larkhall, Aberdeen, Bellshill, Fort William and Greenock.

The group’s shipping services include freight and passenger routes to and from the UK (including Rosyth), in the Baltic Sea and in the Mediterranean.