PODGORICA (Montenegro), November 16 (SeeNews) – Montenegrin forwarder Montenomaks C&L has launched nationwide same-day deliveries and plans to develop a new distribution centre as part of its regional expansion, director general Radovan Radulovic said.
The firm operates with partners from all over Europe like Austria’s Gebrüder Weiss, Zagreb-based In Time, Salzburg-based Lagermax and takes over the distribution of shipments as soon as they reach Montenegro. It is also active in neighbouring Kosovo and Albania.
In February, Montenomaks launched Maksexpress, a door-to-door same-day service for up to 700-kilogramme parcels in the capital Podgorica and same-day or next-day delivery nationwide.
“So far we have gathered 50 to 70 clients all over Montenegro,” Radulovic told SeeNews in a telephone interview.
“It is national distribution service now and our ambitions are to turn it into a regional one. That’s why we have launched investment in a 5,000-square metre distribution centre in Podgorica.”
The company has bought a plot of land where it will build the new distribution centre but has faced difficulties in attracting a commercial bank to the project due to the global financial crisis. The future construction site is located close to the motorway linking Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania.
“With the completion of the distribution centre, which will be the backbone of our future development, we plan to expand to the whole region of ex-Yugoslavia,” Radulovic said.
Montenomaks plans to develop the logistics facility in two stages – 3,000 square metres in the first one and the remaining 2,000 square metres in the second one.
“The first phase will mean a strong step towards regional expansion. It should be ready by September next year,” Radulovic said, adding there were indications the company will be able to secure financing for the project by the end of the year.
The preliminary costs of building a 12-metre high warehouse equipped with modern facilities in the first stage of the project are put at some 1.5 million euro ($2.3 million).
“We rely on favourable financial and economic situation in the region and in Europe, so it shouldn’t be a problem,” Radulovic said, referring to the second stage, in which the company will build the remaining area.
Montenomaks has a 15% market share of the Montenegrin logistics market, where around 200 freight forwarding firms operate. The company is a newcomer to the sector of combined shipment and distribution but has attracted important clients, among which Croatian oil firm INA and the local arm of Serbia’s Delta Holding, Delta Montenegro, which indicates its market share is rising, said Radulovic.
He added the company is profitable but declined to disclose any figures.
Montenomaks C&L (www.montenomaks.com) provides road, railway, sea and air international transportation in Montenegro. The company’s activities include full logistics support to import, export, transportation and goods warehousing.
The firm has a logistics hub in the wider centre of Podgorica with 4,100 square metres of closed storage space and 600 square metres of open space. The system comprises regional logistics and handling facilities in the Adriatic towns of Herceg Novi, Tivat, Bar in the south, and in Niksic and Bijelo Polje in the north.
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