About ERA-transport a/s

It started with wood

ERA-transport a/s was founded in 1950 by Erik Rasmussen as a one-man firm in Odense with a used Chevrolet, pre-war model, with 6.5 tonnes of payload.
I 1975 company was transformed into a family company.
The company began with transport of wood from forests on Funen to large sawmills on the island of Funen, particularly the "Det Fynske Trælastkompagni" in Odense, which was the first customer.
Subsequent activities were extended to the driving of timber from Scandinavia to the same customer.
In the late '50s many electric shipwinches and other electrical equipment were transported from the firm "Thomas B. Thrige" in Odense to the shipyards in the North German ports - war damage compensation in the form of merchant ships to the Israeli state.
In the mid-'60s building elements were transported on concrete panel trailers, from 2 large factories on Funen for building Neue Heimatin Hamburg, and later elements to houses across Germany. It was also a shorter period tranporting flowers to Europe.
It was also during this period, when construction boomed that its niche with transport of Construction Machinery and equipment on low platform semitrailers was founded.

The vision of America

In the late'60s the company began to tranport shipping line containers from/to Port of Odense. Erik Rasmussen had been to America on af study trip, where he had seen the potential of the new form of transportation of goods overseas in containers. A vision that would later proved to be the company's main activity.
When he came home from the studytrip, he contacted a local freight forwarder who specializes in transportation of furniture from factories on Funen to the United States, and they made af cooperation, transporting these containers loaded with furniture.
They organized a small container ship from Hamburg to Port of Odense every week, which delivered empty containers and removed the loaded containers, which were loaded on an ocean-going ship in Hamburg.

Odense was upgraded

Ships with containers to the Port of Odense were after approx. 10 years suspended, and activities were taken over by Port of Esbjerg and Port of Aarhus. Around 1980 ERA-tranport a/s expanded, and now transported containers to the Port of Hamburg and Port of Bremerhaven. In the mid-80s the company started transporting part loads from Funen to Port of Hamburg with a tautliner - an activity that still exist today. Over a period of approx. 10 years from the early '70s ERA-transport a/s also had a depot for heating oil, and delievered to customers in Odense with 3 oil tank trucks.
Around 1990 and ca. 7-8 years, hanging garment was almost every day, transported from Odense to Norway and Sweden.

Still family owned

Today, 98% of the company's operations are transporting containers, based in Aarhus, Fredericia, Copenhagen, Hamburg and Bremerhaven container terminal.
The company has approx. 15 years ago set up its own container depot - first at the Port of Odense. In 2006 ERA-transport a/s moved all its activities, incl. container depot, to new locations in "Tietgenbyen" Odense.
The company currently owns 37 tractors and approx. 200 trailers. We employ around 60 drivers, mechanics and administrative staff. In addition, we employ around 40 extern owned i tractors.
Company founder Erik Rasmussen withdrew in 2000 definitively and management is now taken over by 2nd generation, Joergen Rasmussen and Inge-Merete Koch.