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    Milestones on the way to becoming an international terminal operator

    • Kurt Eckelmann

      Kurt Eckelmann

      1961: Founding of EUROKAI KGaA

      On 16 March, Kurt Eckelmann founded EUROKAI KGaA. The land side of the business is developed with the goal to set up a container handling company. Conceptually, a multi-purpose terminal is designed in order to enable the company to participate in the growing container traffic. 

    • 1969: Inbetriebnahme des EUROKAI Container Terminals

      1969: The EUROKAI Container Terminal goes into operation

      The EUROKAI Container Terminal goes into operation. The Group is built up with the subsidiaries ReMain Repair and Maintenance of Containers, SEACONFOR Seaport Container Forwarding, EUROKAI City Terminal, EUROKAI Landterminal and SWOP Seaworthy Packing.

       

      In 1969, Dr Angelo Ravano founds Contship SA in Cadenazzo. The company name is derived from the 2 words "container" and "shipping".

    • 1984 Börsengang

      1984: Stock market flotation and acquisition of shares in Contship SA

      EUROKAI KGaA quotes preference shares on the stock exchange with a preference dividend amounting to 5 percent.

       

      Concurrently, EUROKAI acquires 33.4 percent of the shares in Contship SA based in La Spezia.

    • 1987 Waltershofer Hafen

      1987: Expansion of Waltershof Harbour

      Waltershof Harbour expands as a result of the acquisition of neighbouring Holzmüller Seehafenbetrieb KGaA and its terminal and stevedoring company PAETZ & Co.

      The La Spezia Container Terminal (LSCT) takes up operations at the Molo Fornelli in the port of La Spezia auf.

    • 1990: Salerno

      1990: Contship Italia

      Contship Italia acquires a 50 percent share in Salerno Container Terminal. Sogemar, a company offering intermodal transport to the Italian seaports, is acquired.

       

      Cecilia Eckelmann-Battistello becomes the first female president of the IPBCC, the oldest liner conference existing between England, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

    • La Spezia

      1993: La Spezia

      Thanks to LSCT, La Spezia becomes the most important container port in the Mediterranean.

    • 1993 Gioia Tauro

      1993: Gioia Tauro

      An agreement is concluded with the Italian state permitting development of the container terminal in Gioia Tauro.

    • 1994 Kurt Eckelmann

      1994: Death of company founder, Kurt Eckelmann

      Kurt Eckelmann, founder and honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of EUROKAI KGaA, dies on 27.12.1994, aged 78.

    • 1994 Angelo Ravano

      1994: Death of company founder Dr Angelo Ravano

      Dr Angelo Ravano, founder of Contship Italia dies in the same year.

    • 1995 MedXpress

      1995: United Feeder Services L.P. is built up and Gioia Tauro takes up operations

      United Feeder Services is founded with the goal to develop feeder connections to and from Gioia Tauro. The Medcenter Container Terminal in Gioia Tauro opens on 16 September 1995 with the clearing of the “CMBT Concord”.

    • Gründung 1999

      1999: EUROGATE is founded and EUROKAI acquires a majority shareholding in Contship Italia

      EUROGATE is founded as a 50:50 joint venture between EUROKAI and the BLG LogisticsGroup.

       

      EUROKAI acquires the remaining 66.6 percent of the shares in Contship Italia from the family of company founder and long-time Eckelmann partner Dr Angelo Ravano and from then on acts as the Group holding company.

       

      Contship Italia incorporates the Medcenter Container Terminal in Gioia Tauro, the leading transhipment centre in the Mediterranean, La Spezia Container Terminal, as well as the intermodal transport group Sogemar in Milan and on a pro rata basis the partnership shipping line United Feeder Services in Limassol.

    • TCR – Terminal Contenitori Ravenna

      2002: Ravenna is included in the network

      The port city of Ravenna on the Italian Adria is integrated into the Europe-wide network. Contship Italia acquires 30% of the shares in TCR–Terminal Contenitori Ravenna.

    • Cagliari

      2003: A container terminal in Sardinia

      Contship Italia acquires 92% of CICT–Cagliari International Container Terminal in Sardinia. After the Medcenter Container Terminal in Gioia Tauro, CICT is the second transhipment hub in the Mediterranean network. Hapag Lloyd is a major customer.

    • Tanger

      2008: EUROGATE Tanger takes up operations and Bremerhaven acquires a new terminal section

      In 2005, the EUROGATE, Contship Italia, CMA CGM and MSC consortium acquired the operating concession for the Tanger Med II container terminal in Morocco, directly on the Strait of Gibraltar. Construction gets underway in 2006. EUROGATE lead manages the project. The conveniently and geostrategically located EUROGATE Tanger container terminal takes up operations in 2008.

       

      The new CT4 terminal section in Bremerhaven is completed. The quay wall is extended by a third and now measures 4,680 m. The terminal area in Bremerhaven is thus enlarged to a total of 2.9 million m². The Bremerhaven location has a total handling capacity of 9 million TEUs.

    • Ust-Luga

      2011: The Ust-Luga Container Terminal begins operations

      The Ust-Luga Container Terminal, in which EUROGATE has held a 20 percent share since 2007, goes into operation on 29 December 2011. The remaining 80 percent of the shares are held by the National Container Company, Russia’s leading container terminal operator.

    • Wilhelmshaven

      2012: Start of operations of EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven

      On 21 September 2012, EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven goes into operation as the first and only deep-water container terminal on the German North Sea coast. The first container ship to dock is the "Maersk Laguna". The terminal begins operations after the first construction phase with a quay wall of 1,000 m. A further 725 m of quay wall in the second construction phase went into operation in August 2013.