2005 Annual Report - Touax

River barges
Environmentally
friendly
Competitive
Leasing
Transportation
173 barges,
self propelled
barges
and pushboats
1 st in Europe
dry cargo barges
A growth service driven by economical and environmental benefits.
River transport remains the most competitive mode of inland transportation.
It is also the least costly for the community and the most environmentally
friendly, as it helps to take traffic off the roads.
Customers rely on TOUAX for their fleet outsourcing needs and when
subcontracting their river transportation requirements.
A solid reputation for quality service among industry
and transport operators
The Group provides two types of service:
2 transportation and chartering (40% of units),
2 leasing of river barges (60% of units).
As at 31 December 2005, the TOUAX Group managed a fleet
of 173 barges, self-propelled vessels and pushboats
(including 133 barges), making it the largest company
in Europe providing barge transport of bulk dry cargo,
with a daily transport capacity of 379,463 tons (source:
TOUAX).
The barges operate principally under the “TAF” and
“EUROTAF” trade names.
TOUAX works on behalf of large industrial groups
and transport operators such as EDF, Cargill, Dreyfus,
Lafarge, GKE, etc. for the transportation of coal, grain,
ore and all kinds of dry heavy goods.
A unique international presence
TOUAX benefits from a wide geographical presence:
In France (Seine, Rhone), TOUAX leases barges transporting coal, grain,
fertilizer, cement and construction materials, as well as large-volume
packages.
In the Netherlands (Rhine, Meuse, Moselle, Main), the Group leases barges
and transports and stores phosphates, fertilizers, coal, ore and iron.
In addition, the Group maintains a river link between Rotterdam and a large number
of ports in the Benelux countries, France, Germany and Switzerland, for the
transportation of containers.
In Romania (Danube), the Group transports and stores
grain, cement, steel, coal and ore on the Rhine-Main-
Danube network, which extends over 2,500km across
seven countries. TOUAX is one of the leading operators
in the Romanian market.
In the United States (Mississippi), TOUAX leases barges
for the transportation of grain, steel coils, fertilizers
and cement.
In South America, TOUAX has sold its equipment and plans
in the medium term to reposition itself in operational
leasing and the lease-purchase of barges for the main local
operators on the Parana river.
annual report 2005
6