Martico Reefer Solutions celebrates the second anniversary of its arrival in Martigues, France

The team is increasing the volume of cargo it can handle

A specialist in refrigerated or “reefer” containers for transporting perishable goods, in December 2022, the Spanish company Martico Reefer Solutions celebrated the second anniversary of its agency in Martigues just west of Marseille. The multinational company is the leader in Spain for temperature-controlled cargo and it spent several years scouting locations for its first permanent operating base in France. Emilie Zamora, the Director General of Martico France, and Alison Kersuzan, Operations and Finance Manager for Martico France, created a turnkey project in Martigues that met the company’s expectations and matched its ambitions.

A former shipping agent turned freight forwarder, the Spanish group Martico Reefer Solutions has created a hugely successful business handling and transporting temperature-controlled perishable goods such as meat, fish, fruit, and vegetables.

Martico Reefer Solutions was launched in Valencia, Spain in 1986 and the company has since developed a worldwide network of agencies with 27 branches or representative offices in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Martico now has more than 110 employees.

Four years ago, the company began looking to open a location in France. “Our goal was to expand into the French market. France is a hub between Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a large food-producing country, and we needed a presence here to better cover the logistical needs of our customers,” says Damian Kutnowski, the Chief Commercial Officer for Martico. “By positioning ourselves in the South of France near the Port of Marseille, we can perform operations that reach the four corners of the world.”

The advantages of the Port of Marseille Fos

“Being close to the Port of Marseille Fos is obviously an advantage. We can be highly responsive and meet our customers’ needs in a timely manner, which is an essential element of the ‘reefer’ cargo business. Food products transported in reefer containers require close monitoring from the point of departure to the point of delivery while using the most efficient routes,” explains Alison Kersuzan, the Operations and Finance Manager in Martigues.

“Martico Reefer Solutions opted to create a full-scale agency rather than a simple sales office. Alison Kersuzan and I offered to set up a local team for the company and despite the difficulties of launching in the middle of the Covid crisis, we now have 13 people working in Martigues,” says Emilie Zamora, the Director General of Martico France, who also oversaw the company’s entry in the Syndicat des Transitaires de Marseille-Fos freight forwarding union.

Strengthening its logistics strategy in France

Even faced with the surge in freight rates and the pandemic-related challenges encountered in 2020, the Martico agency in Martigues has successfully expanded from a small office for four people to a larger 120m2 space they are now renting. Over this period, it has recruited transit agents as well as commercial and administrative employees to handle regulatory requirements and to increase the volume of goods it can transport. The Martigues office’s workload has steadily grown over the past two years as it is handling apples, potatoes, and meat exports from France and fruit and vegetable imports from Israel, North Africa, and Egypt. Most of the cargo is transported by sea.

In 2021, Martico Reefer Solutions, which covers 160 countries worldwide, handled 80 000 refrigerated containers for export. The group also runs a road transport business and has launched its first rail containers in Spain. Considering its vibrant ecosystem of start-ups and innovative companies linked to the agricultural sector, France and the Aix-Marseille-Provence metro area could eventually welcome other projects from Martico Reefer Solutions. It’s something to keep an eye on...