Arcese is expanding its electric shuttle service between its logistics hub and the Riva del Garda plant of long-standing customer Cartiere del Garda, replacing all diesel trucks with Mercedes eActros vehicles. The operation started with one unit and in October 2026 Arcese announced the addition of five more, for a service running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a total of 13,000 trips a year, equivalent to around 26,000 transits along the provincial road. The benefits are the absence of emissions and lower noise levels, the latter being particularly important during night-time operations.
Truck charging is handled by a system supplied by Swish and installed at the Cartiere del Garda plant, where a central unit supplies three charging points and distributes the available power according to vehicle requirements, giving priority to trucks with the lowest state of charge. The charging points are located at the loading bays, allowing vehicles to recharge during normal operations without dedicated detours. The electricity comes directly from Cartiere del Garda's power plant. Vehicle routes are short and repetitive, while energy consumption and intervals between charging sessions vary according to outside temperature, load and season. Emanuele Arcese, Global VP Road Freight FTL at Gruppo Arcese, said the two companies worked together on vehicle selection, shift organisation and charging management. The project therefore provides an interesting example of cooperation between a customer and a road transport operator in introducing electric trucks.
The project comes during an important year for the Trentino-based transport operator, which has launched several initiatives. In May, Arcese started an intermodal service between Europe, Egypt and the Gulf countries, with weekly ro-ro departures from the port of Trieste to Damietta and ferry connections between Safaga and Neom in Saudi Arabia. From there, the service continues to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, including customs and documentation management and door-to-door delivery. The service is designed for full loads and groupage and uses curtain-sided and box semi-trailers, equipment for hanging garments and refrigerated units, with an owned, geolocated fleet and direct control of operations in Trieste and Damietta.
On 29 May, the group announced its inclusion among the "Europe's Best Employers 2026" compiled by the Financial Times and Statista, where it ranks as one of two Italian logistics and transport companies. The ranking is based on more than six million assessments collected from employees. During the summer, Arcese also reported its inclusion among the "Europe's Climate Leaders 2026" and its third consecutive year of access to the Ecobonus Marítimo, the Spanish incentive for shifting freight from road to sea: 3,659 ferry journeys and more than €213,000 in subsidies.
On 7 September came the announcement of A-Luxe, a logistics platform dedicated to high-value goods, particularly jewellery and watches, established through a company based in Lognes, Île-de-France, controlled by Arcese France Holding. The service includes European transport using armoured vehicles, storage in certified vaults, brokerage and daily connections with the continent's main logistics hubs, mainly at night. The project is being developed with Huxe, a high-value logistics specialist belonging to Hong Kong's Hecny group, which is expected to support A-Luxe in Italy, Switzerland and non-European markets, including Asia and the United States. The first vault is already operational in Paris, while a second is planned in southern France.
P.R.
