Freight forwarding Bergamo – transport to and from the Czech Republic

An industrial province at the foot of the Alps

Bergamo itself is a mid-sized city, but the province around it ranks among the most industrialised in Italy. The plain south of the city and the mouths of the Seriana and Brembana valleys are packed with small and medium manufacturers in mechanical engineering, rubber and plastic components – including brake parts for cars – electrical equipment, chemicals and textiles. Val Seriana has a long tradition of cotton weaving, and limestone quarried around Bergamo feeds cement and building-material production.

Typical loads for Czech customers:

• machinery, gearboxes, pumps and maintenance spare parts
• rubber and plastic components for the automotive industry
• fabrics and technical textiles on rolls
• electrical products and cables
• cheese from the Bergamo valleys and local wine

In the other direction we move Czech steel semi-finished products, castings, plastics, paper and packaging, glass and food.

Brenner rather than Switzerland

On the map the Gotthard route via Como looks like the shortest way north. For a truck to the Czech Republic it rarely is: Switzerland is outside the EU, so goods travel under customs transit, there is a 40-tonne gross weight limit plus night and Sunday bans, and the detour via Basel and southern Germany adds distance. Trucks from Bergamo therefore take the A4 east past Brescia to Verona and then the A22 over the Brenner, via Innsbruck and Munich to the Waidhaus – Rozvadov border.

• Prague: roughly 840 km; a full truck with one driver usually unloads on the second working day.
• Brno: roughly 900 km, often via Venice, Tarvisio and Vienna.
• Pallet groupage: usually three to five working days.

Italian bans for trucks over 7.5 t apply on Sundays, public holidays and some summer Saturdays; Austria has weekend and night restrictions and Germany a Sunday ban. See also the Prague – Milan route.

Cheese country

The Bergamo Alps are remarkable for their number of protected-origin cheeses: Taleggio from Val Taleggio, Strachitunt and Formai de Mut from the upper Brembana valley, among others. The surrounding hills produce Valcalepio wines and the sweet Moscato di Scanzo. Soft ripened cheese needs a reefer and an unbroken cold chain, and wine travels temperature-controlled in summer. Orders for delis and restaurants are usually a few pallets, so chilled groupage or a small refrigerated vehicle is the right fit.

Collecting around Bergamo

Warehouses and factories are concentrated on the plain between Bergamo and Milan along the A4 and A35 and in industrial zones south of the city. The hilltop Città Alta, ringed by Venetian walls listed by UNESCO, has narrow streets and restricted access, so deliveries there are made by small vans. Orio al Serio airport used to be a major express air-cargo hub, but that operation moved to Milan Malpensa and the airport now mainly handles passengers.

Full loads suit machinery, textile rolls and regular supplies for production lines. Single pallets travel best by pallet transport, while a part needed for a stopped line goes by express van and usually arrives the next day. Many suppliers in the province are smaller firms without a loading dock, where forklifts load from the side, so we check in advance whether a curtainsider or a smaller truck with a tail lift is needed. Many Italian companies close for two to three weeks in August, so plan orders before mid-month. Italy is in the EU, so a CMR note and an invoice or delivery note are enough, plus temperature records for chilled food. Get a quote in the calculator.