Hillebrand buys Bora

JF Hillebrand, the leading logistics supplier to the wines and spirits industry, has bought Bulgarian beverage logistics specialist, Bora Shipping.

Hillebrand sayd the two companies have worked in partnership for a number of years and the acquisition underpins Hillebrand’s position in the growing Eastern European wine market.

This latest investment will strengthen JF Hillebrand’s position not only in Bulgaria, but also in the Romanian and Serbian import and export markets, where Bora is well established.

It says the Bulgarian wine’s share of the UK market has been in decline for a number of years, due to intense competition especially from New World wines, but the country produces both high quality and good value wines to meet a variety of tastes. Anticipated funding for the industry, following Bulgaria’s recent European Union membership, will help the industry market its wines for export and this has encouraged JF Hillebrand to further invest for the future.

“We are delighted to welcome Bora Shipping to the JF Hillebrand Group,” said Bernd Jordan, JF Hillebrand’s Area Manager for Northern Europe. “Eastern Europe is an emerging wine market with huge potential for growth and development. The combination of Bora Shipping’s local expertise, alongside JF Hillebrand’s global network, means we are now perfectly positioned to serve the needs of this market.”

Boris Christov, manager of Bora Shipping with more than 40 years’ experience in freight forwarding, will manage JF Hillebrand’s activities in Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia. Bora Shipping is based in Sofia, Bulgaria.