History

History

The company was founded in 1980, when Kim Johansen bought a small firm of haulage contractors, with nine vehicles, in Valby, a city near Copenhagen, Denmark.

Kim Johansen has a background as a mechanic and driver and like many others alike, the motivation to start up his own business was founded in his great interest in lorries and technics.

Kim Johansen and his 9 employees started by driving for a few shippers, including SAS Cargo – a partnership we are still proud to have among our customers. Destinations included Budapest, Stockholm and Oslo.

Focus on logistics from the mid-90s

With time, however, it became clear that this interest alone could not move the business forward. The new steps towards the pioneering “Kim-Johansen way” of logistics, was taken when the company began to expand and develop the setup we know today as time-sensitive transport solutions.

The construction of the company’s logistical network was crucially important, since it made it possible to transport customers’ goods in one, continuous movement. The use of drivers along the traffic routes between Stockholm and Oslo, was one of the first examples of such measures.

In the mid-90s the traditional haulier’s business was history, and the new way of working was the new foundation of the company. This development progressed powerfully and today the company has more than 1.000 employees, operating with a fleet of more than 800 units.

Establishing our presence

Following set-up in Norway (1992) and France (2002), consolidating our position in Scandinavia and Europe, the company began to focus on the eastern part of Europe.

This resulted in the expansion of companies in Estonia (2004) and Poland (2007). With these two subsidiaries joining the group, the company now expanded its presence in Europe to include new EU countries with large potential markets.

Further expansion was made by opening units in Romania, and later on in Latvia in 2018. The latest member of the group joined in 2021 when we bought a part of Bring Slovakia. A strategic expansion to offer our customers a possibility of partnering up with us to do trucking business as well.

International transports

Along the way this development has involved a network of drivers’ hubs (apartments) all over Europe and professional transport solutions made as partnership with a number of major logistics companies such as DHL, DB Schenker, DSV and air freight operators like SAS Cargo, Lufthansa and Air France.

With activities, offices, driver hubs and driver hotels throughout Europe, Kim Johansen Transport Group is now a leading international player with a unique setup to have our trucks on the road 24/7. A solution to welcome our customers’ need of fast and reliable transportation and the lowest possible environmental impact.