Shortly before Christmas 2025, Ignazio Messina signed the deed to acquire 100% of Thermocar, a Genoa-based company specialising in temperature-controlled forwarding and transport, with a dedicated terminal inside the port of Genoa. The shares were sold for €5.35 million by the company’s two shareholders, Adriana and Federico Puccetti. Thermocar is a small company, but one with a deeply rooted specialisation in refrigerated transport from the Genoese quays to the hinterland.
Thermocar’s distinctive value lies not in its scale, but in its direct control of a complete cold chain within the port of Genoa. Its operational headquarters are located in Viale Africa, within the area of the Messina Terminal and Imt, a location that represents one of the key elements of the industrial rationale behind the acquisition. Thermocar holds concessions for maritime state-owned areas and is authorised as a port operator. The company also manages logistics activities, again at the Messina Terminal, which reduces handling steps between ship and truck and vice versa, a particularly important feature for perishable goods.
Thermocar also operates its own fleet of refrigerated containers, including controlled-atmosphere units, as well as company-owned industrial vehicles equipped with generators to power containers during inland transport. The port terminal integrates yards and cold storage cells, testing, repair and washing services for containers and ro-ro semi-trailers, as well as the storage of loaded and empty units supplied by 45 reefer plugs. Customs management is an integral part of the operating model, with the status of a temporary customs storage facility. In the summer of 2024, the company rebuilt its offices and maintenance department within the port, as part of a new 15-year concession.
