Aramex
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| Aramex
<tr><td colspan="2" style="text-align:center; padding:16px 0 16px 0;">Image:Aramex logo pic.gif</td></tr> | |
| Type | Public (DFM:ARMX) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1982 |
| Headquarters | Amman - Jordan
<tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Key people</th><td>Fadi Ghandour, Founder, President and CEO</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Industry</th><td>Transportation</td></tr><tr><th style="text-align:right; padding-right:0.75em;">Products</th><td>International, Express, |
Aramex is a global total transportation services company providing a variety of express, logistics, freight distribution and land transportation services. It also provides a number of retail services including magazine and book orders, and catalogue services.
[edit] History
Aramex is a publicly listed company trading on the Dubai Stock exchange (DFM) and was founded by Fadi Ghandour in 1982 as a provider of wholesale express delivery service. The company began operations as an express wholesaler to US-based express delivery companies such as Federal Express (FedEx), Purolator, Burlington Northern, Emery, and Airborne Express. In 1990, Aramex co-founded the Overseas Express Carriers (OEC) network, along with Airborne Express, an alliance of independent global express companies that functioned as a worldwide delivery network for its members to compete with larger companies.
In 1997, Aramex was listed on the NASDAQ and was the first international company in the region to do so. In 2002, as Aramex was celebrating its 20th anniversary, it was approached by Abraaj Capital and consequently Aramex decided to delist from the NASDAQ. The Company moved to private ownership after being acquired in a leveraged management buyout by Aramex CEO and Co-Founder Fadi Ghandour.
In 2003, DHL acquired Airborne Express, Aramex’s main US partner. This resulted in Airborne Express exiting the Airborne Alliance. In the same year, Aramex took over the alliance and co-founded the Global Distribution Alliance (GDA), a global alliance of 40 express companies with combined revenues of $7.5 billion. Aramex is chairing the alliance which uses a shipment management system developed by the company.
After deciding to list on the Dubai stock market, the company's initial public offering made available a total of about 550 million shares to the public at a price of Dh1 per share. <ref>AIL board of directors approves the acquisition of Aramex from Abraaj.</ref>
As part of its expansion plans, Aramex concluded a series of acquisitions, including Priority Airfreight, InfoFort, Freight Professionals and TwoWay-Vanguard. <ref>InfoFort.</ref> <ref>Priority Airfreight.</ref> <ref>Freight Professionals.</ref>
World-renowned writer and columnist Thomas L. Friedman used Aramex in his book “The World Is Flat” as an example of companies that benefit from what he calls the flattening of the world. The flattening of the world is the leveling of the economic field and the destruction of “barriers to entry,” opening the door wide for an individual or a company anywhere in the world to collaborate or compete globally.
