Passion and competence: in doing so Giuseppe Curcio has consolidated a Group that is now a leader in the transport of goods for the Central European markets. Strengthened by a family tradition, with his father Giovanni’s business, which began in 1973, Giuseppe Curcio has been able to grasp well, since the mid-nineties, the opportunities of globalization and the new services to offer to customers.
The fleet of vehicles grew in step with the expansion of the network on the French-speaking market, acquiring the first important orders from Italian companies that needed to ship to France and Belgium. In 2007, work began on the new headquarters in the industrial area of Polla (Salerno), a few kilometers from the motorway junction. “The world of transport needed further extensions of the supply chain – explains Giuseppe Curcio – It was not enough to offer only transport, but also logistics and supply chain”. Today the structure has 50 thousand sqm of external surface area, 5 thousand sqm of automated warehouses with 12 thousand on-floor pallet spaces, a workshop and offices.
The continuous need to grow and create synergies led Curcio to join, in 2012, Astre, a transport and logistics group that unites 215 European companies, of which 28 Italian, for the creation of a continental network. “With this choice – continues the entrepreneur – we enrich our service portfolio with the distribution of pallets and lots throughout Europe, entering the world of groupage”.
The multimodal division was born in 2013, with 50 swap bodies and 15 container semi-trailers located in the terminals of Milan, Paris, Antwerp and Caserta. Today the swap body fleet is around 150 vehicles, with around twenty vehicles. “The division, which represents 10% of the turnover – underlines Giuseppe Curcio – is developed as a real business unit on the Italy-France and Italy-Belgium lines”.
The Group strengthens in Italy with the opening, in 2015, of the transit hub in Sant’Ilario d’Enza. Today the branch has 10 thousand sqm of external surface, 5 thousand sqm of warehouses, a workshop and offices. Similarly, Curcio consolidates its presence on the French market by acquiring, in 2019, Fantozzi Transport of Vedène, near Avignon. “An important outpost – adds the Group administrator supported, in the company administration, by his wife Antonella Caggiano – as the fleet, with French license plates, allows us to operate throughout France, which for us represents a strategic market share”. The “Astre Plus” project is also international in nature, the first lottery network in Italy, promoted with ten other companies in 2018, with headquarters at the Bentivoglio Interport, near Bologna area, and two hubs in Maddaloni – south Italy- and Milan.
Today the fleet counts over 180 vehicles in all segments, mainly Euro 6, and 320 semi-trailers, including frigo trucks. The headquarters is equipped with a photovoltaic system that makes it energy independent, and a water recycling washing system.
Two hundred employees run the Group every day: “They are our real capital – concludes Giuseppe Curcio – in whom we invest, especially in training. In particular, traveling staff is an increasingly rare resource to find, despite today representing a highly professionalized profile. And it is precisely for this reason that young people must be passionate about work that guarantees income and dignity.”