Hellmann is thus continuing its successful expansion strategy in the overnight express services segment and opening up another important part of the Central and Eastern European market, the company said. The shareholder Ondřej Zíta will remain Managing Director and will continue to manage the operational business together with Wilfried Hesselmann (Head of CEP Europe, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics), so that business relations with all customers can continue as usual.

Founded in Prague in 2016, the overnight express specialist OptimNet has developed very successfully in recent years both on the Czech market and, since 2018, on the Slovakian market. Having already tapped into the Hungarian and Romanian markets last year with the acquisition of Innight, Hellmann has now closed the gap to Germany with this takeover and intends to further expand its overnight express services for the agricultural and automotive sectors in particular. In this way, Hellmann intends to meet the constantly growing demand for a smooth and fast supply of spare parts in this strategically important core customer segment and also to open up further segments.

"With the expansion of our overnight express service in Eastern Europe, we are taking another consistent step in our expansion strategy, which we initiated at the beginning of last year and have successfully developed further in the meantime," says Jörg Herwig, Chief Operating Officer Road & Rail, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.

"I am delighted that we are taking on all 37 OptimNet employees. On the one hand, this will secure their livelihoods and, on the other hand, we can smoothly build on the business relationships we have successfully established in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in recent years in order to continue to grow here and beyond in Eastern Europe in the future," adds Wilfried Hesselmann, Head of CEP Europe, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.

"As a new member of Hellmann F.A.M.I.L.Y, I am looking forward to further developing the Eastern European market together with our new colleagues and to driving the expansion towards new industries," says Ondřej Zíta , Managing Director CEP CZ/SVK, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.