Damco to re-locate headquarters to The Hague, Netherlands

Damco, a global third-party logistics (3PL) and freight forwarding subsidiary of A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, announced this week that it is re-locating its headquarters from Copenhagen, Denmark to The Hague, Netherlands.

Company officials said the move should be completed during the first quarter of 2013, and they added that this move “brings Damco closer to the heart of the European logistics community and supports its strategy to become a Top 5 industry player.” And they also said that it will enable Damco to further optimize its cost structure, bringing it closer to the level of its primary competitors in the region.

In an interview with LM, Damco CEO Rolf Habben-Jansen said that the decision to move Damco HQ is a natural step in Damco’s overall development.

“The Hague was chosen after careful evaluation that took more than a year, because we consider it the best location when we take all factors into account: it is closer to the heart of the European logistics industry (our customers, carriers, transport hubs and talent pool), costs are lower, we have an established presence and good experience already with APM Terminals—and yet it is still close to Copenhagen and The Group,” he said.

The relocation to the Netherlands is not expected to affect day-to-day operations in any way, he explained.

When asked what the main benefits of this move are for Damco from a competitive perspective, Habben-Jansen explained how it will help Damco to be even more competitive and put Damco in the heart of the European logistics business.

“It brings senior management closer to many of our customers, carriers, the major air and ocean transportation hubs, not to mention the competition as well as and the kind of additional international logistics experience we’ll be looking to hire as we continue to grow,” he said.

Damco said the moving process will kick off towards the end of the fourth quarter and added there are about 150 positions in Damco’s Copenhagen headquarters, save for Except for about 75 positions that will remain in Copenhagen to continue handling IT functions.