Our history

The First World War is over. Imports of frozen meat, set up to feed the armed forces, are set to continue in France. The PLM company (Paris, Lyon, Marseille) then creates its own cold transport company: Société Française de Transports et Entrepôts Frigorifiques. The Stef company then takes on an essential mission: ensuring food supplies for the population.
 

A technical department is set up to adapt to the various products. Wagons are fitted out, including the first tanker wagons for transporting fresh milk.

The Stef company is already keen to take on the challenge of keeping up with developments in the sector.
 

The Stef company is bought out, with its 5 warehouses and 600 wagons, and becomes a subsidiary of SNCF, which owns almost the entire French rail network.

With the development of the road network, the Stef company takes a new direction: 135 trailers of a new type are ordered between 1950 and 1954.

In the years that follow, the SNCF subsidiary develops its road haulage and warehousing businesses through the acquisition and takeover of various companies.

Innovation continues, with the appearance of the first icing towers in 1953.

The opening of France's first hypermarket marks the emergence of mass consumption. Refrigerated transport is adapting: the local market is becoming a nationwide market.

A founding act of the transport network, the merger of Sancier, Galopin and Eurotransit leads to the creation of TFE. 

The Stef company plays a role in the frozen food revolution. In 1974, frozen products account for 80% of warehousing

SNCF sells the Stef company, which becomes STEF, an independent group. Already the French leader in frozen food logistics, the Group sets itself the goal of becoming the European leader in food logistics.

The STEF Group expands in Europe, setting up operations in Belgium, Spain and Portugal in the 1990s.

STEF and the TFE groupage network merge: STEF-TFE is born.

STEF-TFE adopts an employee share ownership programme. Even today, this programme is at the heart of the Group's independence strategy.

The STEF-TFE Group is floated.

STEF-TFE expands into Italy with the acquisition of Cavalieri in 2005. This presence is to be consolidated in 2022 with the acquisition of SVAT.

STEF-TFE acquires French company Cryologistics.

STEF-TFE symbolises the convergence of all its expertise by adopting a single brand name: STEF.

STEF Group acquires Ebrex France.

The Dutch companies Speksnijder Transport, Vers-Express and Netko join the STEF Group.

STEF celebrates its 100th anniversary. 
Since its creation, the Group has built up a strong network that enables it to offer an enriched and diversified food experience, taking consumers on a journey right to their plate.

STEF Group expands into the UK with the acquisition of temperature-controlled transport group Langdons. This historic signing marks the deployment of our activities in an 8th country! It enables us to offer our producer and distributor customers a transport and logistics service covering the whole of Western Europe.

The "Moving Green" roadmap, launched in 2021, aims to accelerate our efforts to make our supply chain more environmentally friendly.

The "Committed to a sustainable future" 2022-2026 strategic plan is launched. This brings together all stakeholders, both internal and external, and aims to strengthen the Group's focus on people, innovation and the planet.
 

The Group acquires TransWest in Belgium. This project will enable us to offer a new service that creates value for the supply chain of our Belgian and international customers.

In the same year, the STEF Group strengthens its position in the Netherlands with the acquisition of BAKKER Logistiek. This acquisition strengthens the Group's territorial coverage of all the country's production and consumption regions. It also extends the Group's range of services dedicated to food products to include transport, logistics and packaging