TCE plans international expansion

TCE, the cargo and fast courier operator will enter the Bulgarian market on January 1, 2007.
The company is already in talks with a storehouse based in Ruse to use as the hub of its activity.
“The company will enter the Bulgarian market either through a joint-venture or by purchasing or opening a branch,”says Sorin Sofian, general manager of TCE. To begin with, TCE will offer services to companies that are part of RTC, the company’s parent group.
“In the future, we intend to operate deliveries from Romania to Bulgaria for foreign third parties in Bulgaria,”states Sofian. Besides entering the Bulgarian market, the company also intends to enter the global courier market this year, through a collaboration with an international company. The international courier market is currently dominated by big players such TNT and DHL, which jointly hold over 80% of the market, which also includes other big international players such as UPS and FedEx.
TCE Logistica derived nine-month turnover exceeding 6m euros, up 40% from the corresponding period of last year.
“We are a little bit behind estimates, as we didn’t focus on sales over the first half of the year. Consequently, I think we will witness 40% growth instead of 60% as projected,”added the general manager of TCE.
Since June, TCE’s sales have increased, attracting 130 new clients to the company. Presently TCE numbers between 600 and 650 clients, not including companies in the group.
“We had about 500 clients during the same period last year, but more importantly we did not lose any major clients. In this case, the rule according to which 20% of clients ensure 80% of turnover rings true,”says Sofian.
The company will reach turnover worth 9 million euros this year, building considerably on the 6.5 million euros posted at the end of 2005, which in turn was up by 60% against 2004.
TCE’s client portfolio includes such companies as Lubrifin, Zarea and Kamis. The company also works with other big names like Tornado, Asesoft and Romtelecom on the parcel delivery segment, as well as Finansbank and Banca Transilvania on the envelope segment.