Exel Plc (Acquired by DPWN 2005)

Note: This company is no longer trading as a separate enterprise.

---

As from December 2005 all further updates for Exel will be in DHL Exel Supply Chain

---

Until its acquisition by Deutsche Post World Net in December 2005, Exel was a UK listed full service logistics provider with worldwide operations, headquartered in the UK. It was formed from the merger of Ocean Group Plc and Exel Plc in 2000 and broadly combined the freight forwarding operations of the former with the contract logistics activities of the latter. In 2004 it had a turnover of £6.3bn (approx €9.45bn), largely due to the acquisition of its biggest rival Tibbett & Britten, with a group operating profit of £181.2m (approx €271.8m). Exel is also the world leader in contract logistics, with £3.78bn revenues (€5.67bn). The Group employs 111,000 people at 2,000 locations with 170m sq ft of warehouse space in 135 countries worldwide.

The company provides integrated logistics services with a strong focus on tailored supply chain services for various manufacturing and retail industries. Other operations include air and ocean freight forwarding, shipment handling, express (handles pharmaceuticals and fashion), print distribution service, and European trucking and warehouse operations.

The company's history can be traced back through Ocean Group to 1865 and has its origins in a steam shipping company. It was eventually listed a century later on the London stock exchange. From the mid-1990s onwards the company acquired a number of other well-known brands in the industry, including Intexo (value added logistics), Mercury (mail) and Marken (express).

Exel has its origins in the state-owned National Freight Company, which was sold to its employees in 1982, changing its name to the National Freight Consortium (NFC). In the following years acquisitions were made to increase its US presence. In 1989 the Exel brand was launched in the UK with the aim of creating a global logistics business. This brand was used for the name of the new company when NFC and Ocean merged in 2000.

Since then the company has expanded its automotive logistics operations in the US through the acquisition of FX Coughlin and in Germany through Werthmann+Köster. In 2003 it has continued its acquisition programme in the US, Europe and Pacific Rim and in 2004 it made its largest acquisition to date, when it acquired the Tibbet & Britten Group.

Exel draws its clients from industry sectors such as automotive, retail, chemical, consumer, healthcare, industrial, technology and others. Over a quarter, or 27%, of its revenue is drawn from the consumer sector, the next most important sectors being retail (23%) and technology (20%). At the end of 2004, UK and Ireland contributed the largest proportion of revenue (£2.08bn - 33%) followed by the Americas (£1.89 - 30%). Contract logistics accounts for 60.8% of Exel's logistics revenue and most of the remainder is generated by freight management. A small amount of the Group’s revenue is also generated by a waste disposal division, Cory Environmental, which was sold during the last year.

Following the acquisition by DPWN, John Allan, Exel's CEO will take over as the CEO of the new enlarged logistics group. Contract logistics operations will be re-named DHL Exel Solutions and the forwarding operation will be merged with DHL Danzas Air & Ocean.