Niinivirta and Gruppo Di Martino: from North to South, a common vision in the name of sustainability

From the radiant Catania, to the mists of the lower Milanese area.

Two worlds which, on paper, one would expect to find poles apart in terms of culture, tradition and entrepreneurial approach, seen up close show surprising similarities.

The magnifying glass is that offered by the synergy between two logistics service operators, the Sicilian Di Martino group and Niinivirta of Tribiano (MI), a forwarder with a strong green footprint, with a specialization of the service on Northern European markets.

INTEGRATION IN PROGRESS

In 2018, the Catania group acquired the majority of the Lombard company: a move that started a progressive integration and harmonization of the portfolio of the two companies, with the aim of making medium-sized national and international companies available to the reference market , an offer of integrated and increasingly complete logistics services, capable of competing with that of the large multinationals in the sector.

“Currently,” explains Mario Di Martino, at the helm of the family group, “we are committed to sharing the two experiences, integrating the offer and the organization and working intensely on the synergies identified, to obtain, in the next four or five years, significant growth and a value that is greater than the sum of the two companies.”

INVEST IN ORGANIC GROWTH

The acquisition of Niinivirta confirmed Di Martino’s ability and intention to invest in the differentiation and organic growth of the Group which today has a turnover of 250 million euros, giving work to approximately 750 resources engaged in the three lines of logistics and transport business (which includes, in addition to Niinivirta, F.lli Di Martino, DR Logistics, Beverete, LTM), real estate (Industrial Transport and Property Management) and automotive (with the Comer Sud brand, multi-brand dealership).

LOOK IN THE SAME DIRECTION

Initially planned at the Tribiano headquarters, due to the well-known containment measures of the COVID-19 epidemic, the interview was transformed into a video conference: the social distancing imposed by the situation did not hide the evident harmony between Mario in the slightest Di Martino and Paolo Ferraresi, the volcanic founder of Niinivirta – as well as an entrepreneur Ferraresi is also a car driver -, characterized by an approach to logistics business devoted to innovation, the search for unconventional solutions, sustainability and respect for the environment.

A FULL ELECTRIC FLEET

The company he founded 35 years ago was in fact the first in Italy to carry out distribution services in urban areas with 100% electric vehicles.

It was the year 2014 when Niinivirta purchased the first electric vehicle with a capacity of 10 tonnes in England: the first step along a road that has gradually become wider.

Today the fleet is in fact made up of 10 etrucks with a capacity of 10 to 16 tonnes and a range of 150 to 300 km, which required a total investment of over 3 million euros. The vehicles are used within a distribution network which, in Italy, involves the cities of Milan (and its hinterland), Turin, Brescia, Pordenone, Florence and Rome and which, abroad, is well rooted in Finland, where two vehicles are operational and will soon become three.

GROWTH AND SUSTAINABILITY

Almost two years after the acquisition, the integration process has come to a head and today concerns two prevalent areas: on the one hand the definition of a common and integrated offer of services, on the other the development of optimized management of all movements from a control tower perspective, with the implementation of unique IT systems and infrastructures. In parallel, the already started rationalization of sourcing operations continues with the aim of exploiting economies of scale at a global level and gaining a competitive advantage.

But it is certainly on a medium-term horizon that the Group’s expectations are concentrated. And the bet has really high stakes: to significantly contribute to dismantling a paradigm that nails our transport system, and our logistics system in general, to the role of bringing up the rear in the increasingly urgent race to implement sustainable solutions.

FOSTER CHANGE

“Change is always a difficult process and it takes a lot of courage to open new horizons and explore new scenarios. By focusing on electric traction, Niinivirta made a reasoning not purely economic, but of vision and decided to advance on the market with the strength of new ideas, choosing not to follow pre-established paths” explains Di Martino.

Precisely for this reason, within a Group that in recent years has increased and renewed its fleet to the tune of around 200 loading units per year – intermodal vehicles for loading onto ships and trains and LNG-powered trucks – the choice Niinivirta’s full electric has the flavor of an anticipation, as soon as conditions allow, of scenarios shared and applied on a larger scale.

Already today, in our country, Niinivirta adopts electricity in the management of daily operations for various customers: among the main ones H&M, Kartell and Electrolux.

For the Pordenone company, in particular, the milkrun of collecting components from suppliers serving the assembly line has been carried out in recent months and, shortly, a new Electrolux branded vehicle will be operational.

Alice Borsani

*Extract from the article published in the April 2020 by Il Giornale della Logistica