IFB takes over commercial transport activities of TRW.

The NMBS/SNCB (Belgian Rail) subsidiaries IFB (Inter Ferry Boats) and TRW (Transport Route Wagon) have operated alongside each other for some years now. They both specialised in intermodal transport: IFB in maritime container transport via rail and inland navigation, and TRW especially in continental combined rail transport. Both companies have continuously expanded their activities in recent years, with more and more common customers and, at times, overlapping products.

To be able to offer these customers a better and unambiguous service, the NMBS/SNCB freight group decided to bring all commercial transport activities under one well organised commercial entity with emphasis on customer-orientation, pro-activity and the development of new products, under the purview of Wilfried Moons, General Manager Intermodal. IFB will as of 1 May be the provider of multimodal logistics solutions par excellence throughout Europe. The account management is already established at IFB, with one clear and fixed contact per customer. This transition will not disturb the service to customers.

TRW will assume the full operational management of the wagon fleet of the NMBS/SNCB freight group, and is the owner of the intermodal wagon fleet. The three core tasks of TWR are to:

- Let wagons to railway operators or industrial groups;

- Provide a wagon repair service, thanks to a number of mobile teams that are on duty at all times to carry out repairs in Belgium and abroad;

- Provide fleet management for railway operators or industrial groups with their own wagon fleet.

Jean-Luc Mélard will take on the position of general manager "International business development" at IFB in order to support and accompany the international development of IFB, in close collaboration with the other units within IFB. In this function, he will be part of the management comity of IFB.

Geert Pauwels, Managing Director of IFB, and coordinator of the NMBS/SNCB freight group: “We are convinced that with the new structure, we will be able to offer our customers a more extensive service of superior quality and will be in a better position to anticipate to and cater for their needs. We have created two specialised entities, in fact, each of which with a perfect mastery of its core business: IFB as a commercial company that provides total multimodal logistical solutions, and therefore not only for rail transport, for destinations at home and abroad, and TRW as a wagon fleet manager. Thanks also to the input and experience of the commercial activities and people of TRW in IFB, the company today has very impressive know-how and an extensive organisation that controls all processes well and can operate internationally. For the production of transport and traction, IFB calls on its reliable partner B Cargo within the freight group as well as on external partners such as DB Schenker, ECR and SBB Cargo for international transport.”

About IFB:

Inter Ferry Boats is a full (100%) subsidiary of NMBS/SNCB, based in Antwerp. The company has for more than ten years been providing reliable multimodal solutions for transporting containers, chemicals, automotive products, paper and wood and consumer goods at home and abroad by rail, freighter or truck. IFB provides rail transport, but also manages various terminals in Belgium, Germany and France for freight handling. It has developed the successful National Rail Container Network (Narcon), a daily link via rail, terminal and truck between the quays in Antwerp and Zeebrugge and the hinterland. Rail Force is a division of IFB that provides transport specifically for the chemical and automotive industries. H&S Container Line is also a subsidiary of the IFB Group and a specialist in inland navigation between North Sea ports and the economic centres of the Rhine Area.

For more information:

IFB nv – Veerle Van Mierlo – Telephone: 0472/92 02 29 – veerle.van.mierlo@interferryboats.be

25A Houtdok - B-2030 Antwerp