-- The history

Founded in 1895 in Budapest Billitz Company established his first branch in Fiume: the seaport of Hungary. In 1898, Heinrich Stellmann, coming from the Shipping Agency " Theodor F. Eimbcke " of Hamburg, was entrusted by Mr. Billitz to open a new office in Trieste, one of the most important ports of the Mediterranean and, at that time, the port of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Since the beginning of the XX^th century Billitz, became the shipping agent of Mediterranean and New York Steamship Company Limited and entered the Insurance field as Agent of the Ungarisch-Franzoesischen Versicherung Aktiengesellaschaft. At the same time Billitz engaged in commodities business as Agent of Refined Sugar Association of London.
In 1910, Billitz acquired the Hamburg-Amerika-Linie Agency of White Star Line and acted as the official forwarding Agent of the Veitscher Magnesitwerke A.G. of Vienna. Between the World Wars the company specialized in freight forwarding, and improved its relationship with important Austrian industries such as Veitscher Magnesitwerke (Refrectary materials) and Leykam A.G. and Papier A.G. (paper mills). After the second World War Riccardo Gropaiz, already active in the transportation field and father of the present chairman, acquired the company. A period of development started. At the beginning of the Fifties the branch in Vienna, strategically placed in the heart of Europe, was rebuilt. In the course of the following 10 years, Billitz became a specialized fruits forwarder controlling the distribution of fruit from Trieste all over Europe of the Israeli Citrus Marketing Board. In this period about 100.000 tons of grapefruits and oranges were unloaded every year in the port of Trieste and forwarded to its Hinterland. At the same time Billitz entered the chemical field establishing business relationships with great Italian industries such as Montedison and Enichem. Billitz, traditionally operating on the markets of Central Europe, extended its sphere of interest, to the Italian market.