GCA Logistics opens Seveso warehouse at the Port of Marseille-Fos

Good news for the cosmetics, chemicals and perfume sectors. Since January 2017, they have a storage solution for their most hazardous products at Fos. On 31 March 2017 the Charles André Group (GCA) opened a 34,000 m² storage platform at Distriport, located less than one kilometre from the sea terminals, which is the only facility between Marseille and Lyon equipped to store Seveso 3 class products. An investment totalling €20m was required to build this new facility serving both French and international shippers. Provence Promotion welcomed GCA’s show of confidence in the growth of port traffic and the reliability of operations by awarding the 'Invest in Provence' label to Delphine André, CEO of the GCA Group.

This warehouse is unlike other warehouses. The building measuring 34,000 m², which was constructed in 2016 on the Distriport logistics site, has an area of 6,000 m² reserved for storing highly hazardous goods. No other building in the region has a Seveso 3 class infrastructure of this type, which is capable of storing aerosols, natural gasoline, essential oils, fuels or even chlorinated products.
The facility was opened on 31 March 2017 by the President of the Charles André Group and represents an investment of €20m.

“When we acquired the site in 2011, we were convinced that the Marseille-Fos port was going to become a vital link in the logistics chain. We have all the advantages to develop logistics activities successfully”, according to Delphine André, CEO of GCA, who was appointed Vice President of the supervisory board of the Marseille Port Authority. The company operates warehouses with a total area of 400,000 m² in the main ports of Northern and Southern Europe.
Delphine André received the 'Invest in Provence' label from Philippe Stéfanini, Managing Director of the Economic Development Agency of Aix-Marseille Provence, which is awarded to entrepreneurs who take up the challenge of investing in the region.

The advantage of being quayside

Currently, around forty staff members take care of offloading, storing (in bulk or on racks), order preparation and container loading. The warehouse facility has been operating since January and is already at 70% of its capacity. In the future it will have 50 employees. “The location close to the port terminals is an advantage for our customers. This helps reduce both the time spent parked on the quays and shunting costs. We are the only operator between Marseille and Lyon with the capacity to store flammable and toxic substances”, explains Ewan Le Roux, Director of Logistics at GCA.

TEA, Novatrans and Greenmodal

The Group from Montélimar has invested heavily in Aix-Marseille Provence in recent years. At the Gloria terminal, which is located several hundred metres from the new warehouse facility, subsidiary TEA - which handles unloading and road transportation of 70,000 vehicles p.a. - is preparing to transform an old port building into a vehicle inspection station (PDI).
At Miramas, GCA's subsidiary Novatrans operates the Clésud combined transport terminal, which it is planning to expand. The company is also finalising purchase from CMA CGM of the rail and waterway transport activities operated by subsidiary Greenmodal.
GCA has a turnover of €1 billion and 7,000 employees, 500 of whom are located in the Bouches-du-Rhône department.