B Logistics has changed its name to Lineas. Following a comprehensive transformation, Lineas is now one of the largest and financially most sound, private rail operators in Europe. Lineas’ intent is not only on registering profitable growth in Europe, but also on having a positive impact on mobility, the environment, and the competitiveness of the industry. It is therefore now focusing on providing such good rail products to its industrial customers that they will opt for rail to transport their goods.
Under the name B Logistics, the company went from being the loss-making freight department of the Belgian public rail company SNCB to a financially sound, private growth company over eight years in the midst of an economic crisis. In 2016, Lineas improved its financial result for the 7th year in a row (EBITDA of EUR 27 million compared with EUR 15 million in 2015). Furthermore the company confirmed the growth that was registered for the first time in its history in 2015 (31.5 million tonnes in 2016 vs. 29.4 million tonnes in 2015).
“We are changing name today because we have changed identity as a company. After years of restructuring, we have become one of the biggest and most dynamic private rail operators in Europe. Our ambition is clear: get trucks off the road and shift those volumes to rail. We have developed a pioneering rail product based on the needs of our customers,” Geert Pauwels, CEO of Lineas, said.
Today, Lineas has some 1,900 employees and generates an annual turnover of nearly EUR 500 million. Argos Soditic, an independent private equity group, owns 69% of the company. The remaining 31% is held by SNCB. The group has a fleet of carriages of more than 200 locomotives and 7,000 wagons.
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