DACHSER has announced the establishment of a joint venture in Malaysia at the beginning of May, in a bid to continue expanding its service portfolio in the Asia-Pacific region.

The services provided by Dachser Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. range from air and sea freight business to customs clearance and other logistics services.

It said in a statement that through its new joint venture partner, Malaysian entrepreneur Tan Ah Seng (holdings in Multitrans, Megalift), it is also able to offer special transports. It is planned in the short-term to employ a staff of 15 for the joint venture. The head office, and at the same time first branch office, are located in Petaling Jaya, near the capital Kuala Lumpur. There are also plans to open a second branch office.

"In Malaysia we are now present in another Tiger State following Singapore and Thailand, enabling us to develop both international and inner-Asian freight services for the benefit of our customers," said Thomas Reuter, managing director Dachser Air & Sea Logistics.

"Thanks to years of experience and sound knowledge of the local markets, our joint venture partner provides access to established local contacts and in-depth knowledge from the word go."

Huned Gandhi, a former member of the Dachser India management team, has been appointed as the CEO of Dachser Malaysia. He reports to Detlev Janik, chief regional director South/South East Asia, who is based in Singapore.