About us
About us
Introduction
Samskip is an international company offering transport and related services by land, sea and air. Since being founded in Iceland in 1990, Samskip has experienced steady growth - both internal and through strategic acquisitions - opened offices worldwide and broadening its service portfolio.
In 2005, Samskip acquired the Dutch multimodal transport company Geest North Sea Line, the British shortsea operator Seawheel and reefer centres from the Dutch company Kloosterboer. Previously, Samskip had acquired Van Dieren Maritime and a 40% share in Silver Sea.
Samskip is one of the largest container transport companies in Europe, offering multimodal container logistics and extensive container services to and from Iceland and the Faroe Islands, along with refrigerated cargo logistics and international forwarding around the world.
Samskip employs about 1,400 people working in more than 20 countries world wide.
History
Samskip derives from the Federation of Co-operatives, Samband, which started a shipping company , Samband Line, in 1943. Samband Line, a division of Samband, was changed into a limited company in 1991 called Samskip hf. Samband owned 85% of the share capital.
In 1993 a major reconstruction was implemented. The number of ships was reduced from ten to four, sailing routes were totally overhauled, the number of employees was reduced by 35%, non-profitable assets were sold, changes took place in the management with a new management structure and new management tools were installed.
After a successful turn-a-round, share capital was increased and sold to new investors. Since then, Samskip has experienced constant growth, opening over 50 overseas offices and broadening its service portfolio to become an international transport company.
The year 2005 was a good one for Samskip. The company acquired the Dutch Geest North Sea Line, a well respected transport company with extensive networks across Europe and the British Seawheel, a long-established shortsea shipping perator. Samskip also acquired reefer centres from the Dutch company Kloosterboer, increasing cold storage capacity to 90,000 tons and providing comprehensive services to customers. Previously, Samskip had acquired Van Dieren Maritime and a 40% share in Silver Sea.
As of 30 September 2006, all of Samskip operations were united under one brand, Samskip. Samskip is now one of the largest container transport companies in Europe, offering multimodal container logistics, extensive container services to and from Iceland and the Faroe Islands along with refrigerated cargo logistics and international forwarding.
Management
Board of Directors:
Ólafur Ólafsson - Executive Chairman
Flemming Jacobs
Hjörleifur Jakobsson
Karsten M. Olesen
Lilja Dóra Halldórsdóttir
Alternates:
Einar Benediktsson
Guðjón Ármann Jónsson
Management Samskip:
CEO President: Michael F. Hassing
CEO President: Ásbjörn Gíslason
