Not even a full year since it was established, UPF Group, lead by former CCO of Tschudi Logistics, Thomas Vestergaard, has opened a new office. In line with the company’s vision to remain agile and personal, the company has set up UPF Finland, with an office in Turku. The main goal is to set a strong foothold in the Finnish and European freight forwarding market, with a special focus on project cargo.

The newly established company is led by Managing Director Jussi Heinonen who brings over 15 years of industry experience to the table. The Turku office is supported by the likes of Lars Bonnesen, managing director of United Heavy Lift.

Heinonen began his career as a driver while juggling studies and starting his own family. His professional path took him into project forwarding and later on to the position of managing director of Tschudi Logistics in Turku, Finland.

“We are thrilled with the warm reception UPF Group has already received globally, and the great support we receive from our direct clients and European forwarders towards our African offices. I am excited about expanding the collaboration with our customers in Finland and above all, welcoming our new competent colleagues on board.

“I’m very excited about embarking on this new venture and aim to assemble a team of passionate, customer-oriented logistics experts with diverse knowledge from the transportation industry. Our focus is on providing excellent care for clients’ cargo, ensuring a sense of relaxation and trust, allowing them to concentrate on their core business while leaving transportation worries to us. Whether it’s on sea, land, or air, we prioritise making logistics a personal and seamless experience,” Heinonen said.

UPF Finland is a part of UPF Group, which has offices and partners all around the world. This gives the Finnish company a strong position when tackling global logistics tasks. The UPF Group has its own offices in Denmark, Finland, Tanzania, and Mozambique.

More to come from UPF Group

Speaking to Project Cargo Journal earlier this year Thomas Vestergaard, UPF Group CEO and Co-Founder, said, “we still believe there is more space in the market for an agile forwarder with a special focus on the clients and their needs.” This was said in light of increased digitalisation and loss of personal touch.

Commenting on the establishment of the Finnish office, Pernille Kristensen, HSEQ and Compliance Manager at UPF Group, noted that it was a natural step for the company, however, it was the case of finding the right candidate with a matching vision and ideas.

“We got a vision of covering larger areas from centralised locations. There Jussi Heinonen and Turku fit the purpose perfectly. We can easily reach the clients in Finland, east coast Sweden and the Baltic region,” Kristensen said, adding that bringing Heinonen on board was an easy decision as soon as he has shown interest.

“We have got a special focus on Africa and are active with cargo transit for the mining industry in DRC, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi,” Kristensen said.

UPF Group’s expansion is not slowing down with new offices set to be opened in Portugal and Angola during September, boosting the company’s capacity even further. “After opening seven or eight offices within just 10 months, we will take a short break to allow ourselves some time to focus and prioritise the development of our existing business and strengthen the collaboration with both current and potential customers,” concludes Kristensen.

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