Our history

To know where you’re going, it’s important to know where you’ve come from!

The Astre Group was founded in 1992 by a handful of inspired managers, all visionaries. The original goal of these small businesses in the transportation sector, who took the decision to band together, was a simple one: this was to find an innovative alternative to the increasing concentration underway in the industry, which was leading to the emergence of integrated groups. The slogan, which came about at the same time as this realisation, says a great deal about the state of mind of the founders:

The flexibility of SMEs, the power of a large group

But how do we successfully take up the challenge?

Through a determined commitment to sharing best practices, freight, pooling services, purchasing and products through ongoing solidarity. All of this while maintaining the independence of the company managers to avoid the pitfalls already seen with the rigidity of the transport giants, and to benefit from the managers’ agility in all matters.

The Astre Group grew very quickly, and the need to expand beyond the French border was quickly felt. And so it was that Astre began its own European construction process by organising similar networks in other Western European countries.

Today, Astre is the leading and the only European transport and logistics group with a range of products and services adapted and shared throughout the European perimeter. Astre is comprised of 160 SMEs, independent of one another in equity terms, operating within their regions, with more than 400 sites. These SMEs together generate a turnover of more than €3.3 billion and employ almost 20,000 people.

In addition to business links, the Group is also based on long-standing shared values.