The transport and logistics company Gebr'der Weiss offers a new, direct groupage freight connection from Passau to the Georgian capital Tbilisi. The regular transit time is eight days. Departure is weekly on Thursday and, depending on the shipment volume, there will be an additional departure on Tuesday. 'Weekly groupage transport in this form is truly unique in Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland,' says Thomas Moser, Regional Manager Southeast/CIS at Gebr'der Weiss. 'In this way, we are able to offer our customers a direct overland connection to the emerging markets in Central and Eastern Asia.'

With the integration of the Passau location into the 'GW pro.line' groupage transport system, all Gebr'der Weiss customers can benefit from the new connection: goods from all areas of the GW network with destination Georgia come together in Passau at fixed transit times. The deliveries are then further distributed from the hub in Tbilisi to all destinations within Georgia or to the neighbouring Caucasus states of Azerbaijan and Armenia. In the second half of 2012, already more than 300 tonnes of groupage freight were transported to the Black Sea.

A Hub in the Caucasus

GW is currently building a modern logistics centre in Tbilisi with about 10,000 square metres of transhipment and logistics space. The opening is expected to take place mid-2013. The facilities will serve as a central hub for the Caucasus region. The plot with some 95,000 square metres is easily accessible from the airport and the motorway and can also be connected to the Georgian railway network, which the government is currently expanding nationwide. GW laid the foundation in the Caucasus region already in March last year with the establishment of a joint venture with Tegeta Motors and the 'Gebr'der Weiss LLC' association.