Norbert who?
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Norbert Dentressangle, the chairman of the FF1.9bn (£230m)-turnover business, is still only 40 and his rapidly expanding company is just 16 years old. Although his late father had run a small truck firm since immediately after the war, Dentressangle set up his own operation in the UK in 1978. He incorporated his business with his father's in 1979. From the late 1970s he delivered fruit from southern France to Britain. He now has divisions in Italy, Spain, Benelux and the UK. He says that, even from the beginning, his horizons were fixed firmly beyond France: "We were always very European minded."
The company was floated on the Paris Bourse in June—it claims it is the first general haulier to be admitted to the country's stock exchange—but Dentressangle himself retains 80% of shares. Its headquarters are in St Vallier sur Rhone, between Valence and Lyon. Dentressangle himself does not have an LGV licence (he sticks to a BMW). Despite its rapid growth, the company retains family values. He hopes his son, Pierre-Hanry, 13, will eventually succeed him in the business. Norbert's mother still works at the company in the personnel department. Dentressangle is a keen golfer and enjoys ski-ing, sailing and tennis. He lives in a village near his company's head office.