UK-headquartered palletised freight distribution network Pall-Ex Group has expanded operations in Europe by signing a partnership deal with Econt, one of Bulgaria’s largest providers of transport and logistics solutions.

Pall-Ex will start operations in Bulgaria by the middle of next year, the company said in a statement. Econt operates over 40% of the parcel market in Bulgaria.

The new network will have its central hub based in Plovdiv, in southern Bulgaria and will cover all territories next day as standard.

Pavel Penchev, managing director at Econt, said that the partnership deal with Pall-Ex aims to offer a specific solution for the developing pallet distribution market in Bulgaria.

“It is a market that is still relatively unstructured with freight volumes generally being delivered through long distance multi drops or through courier networks, which proves to be inefficient. Pall-Ex can offer a tried and tested solution with very clear benefits for customers and operators,” he said according to the statement.

Anand Assi, project director at Pall-Ex Group, commented:“This new partnership will allow us to offer cost-effective rates throughout the country, based on geographical area. It will also see the introduction of differentiated pallet sizes, [which] will enable us to enhance our service to towns and villages.”

Members of Pall-Ex Bulgaria will have access to Pall-Ex’s growing continental network spanning the UK, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Italy, France, and shortly the Benelux region.

With 520 offices and 14 logistics centres supported by its headquarters in Ruse, in northern Bulgaria, Econt also works across Greece and Romania – further expanding Pall-Ex’s network.

In September, UK-based Palletways Group announced an expansion to its pan-European operations by adding Bulgaria and Romania.