From the beginning of 2025, the new branch of the Italian division of DB Cargo Fls becomes fully operational within the Quadrante Servizi area of the Verona freight village, a move that highlights the company’s ambition to strengthen its position in the European rail and intermodal transport market. Cristian Signorin, manager of the new Verona office, explains to TrasportoEuropa that the choice of Verona stems from its role as a natural hub for traffic bound for Germany and the Scandinavian countries. Being present in a region that maintains such strong economic ties with the rest of Europe is, he says, essential.
For DB Cargo Fls, Verona also represents an opportunity to operate within the Quadrante Servizi hub, which enables efficient management of both rail and intermodal flows. Not only is the area consistent with the company’s core activities, but the customer base across the Triveneto region is highly significant. Having a local presence allows for greater responsiveness both commercially and operationally.
The Verona branch provides the full range of services offered by Fls Italia, including rail transport, intermodal solutions via containers and trailers, integrated road services and direct connections with Nordic countries along an already well-established corridor. A defining feature of Fls Italia is its use of its own rail resources, working in synergy with the internal production capacity of the DB Cargo group. Signorin points out that the company is a fully integrated logistics provider and, while maintaining the structure of a traditional freight forwarder, it also benefits from owning rolling stock and having dedicated rail production.
This vertical integration, the executive adds, results in greater control over flows, reliable timings and a more competitive offering for clients. Fls Italia primarily serves the steel industry, industrial waste sector, and the food and beverage industry. These are fields in which the company has extensive experience, but one of its goals is also to open up rail transport to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Thanks to intermodal solutions based on semi-trailers, the company is able to offer services even to businesses that do not generate sufficient volumes to fill a dedicated block train. In this way, rail transport becomes accessible to those who, until recently, did not see it as a viable option, says Signorin. A comprehensive picture of DB Cargo Fls’s activities and strategy emerges from the interview granted by CEO Massimiliano Giaresti to TrasportoEuropa.
The new Verona branch forms part of a broader development plan currently focused on northern Italy, where DB Cargo Fls already operates branches in Milan, Domodossola, Dinazzano and Turin. However, if the results from the new branch meet growth expectations and remain within the projected budget, the company plans to strengthen its existing infrastructure and potentially open new operational units in other industrial sectors.