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Industry veteran led family company for more than five decades
It is with great sadness that the passing of Finn J. Poulsen, owner and director of the family run logistics company, was announced following his death on 4 February 2026. He was 81.
Poulsen represented the third generation of leadership within the business. He took over the company from his father in 1971, stepping into the role at a time when global project cargo and breakbulk logistics were entering a period of industrial expansion driven by oil, gas, and heavy infrastructure development.
From that moment, his career became closely tied to the evolution of the sector itself.
Colleagues often described him as a steady hand during volatile market cycles. Through recessions, oil shocks, and shifting trade patterns, Poulsen maintained a reputation for measured decision making and long term client relationships rather than short term gains.
In practical terms, that meant standing on quaysides, visiting fabrication yards, and working directly with engineers and forwarders. For many in project freight, he was not simply an executive but a familiar face on site when complex cargo moved.
A generational transition in family leadership
Taking over a family company is never a symbolic act. It carries operational weight. When Poulsen assumed control in 1971, containerisation was reshaping liner shipping while breakbulk operators were redefining their value in oversized and heavy lift cargo.
He positioned the company within that niche, focusing on project cargoes that required planning, engineering insight, and risk management rather than pure volume throughput.
Industry partners recall that he viewed each shipment as a standalone project. Wind components, industrial modules, or energy infrastructure were never “just cargo” but contractual responsibilities tied to construction schedules and financing milestones.
That mindset helped the company maintain relevance as project logistics grew more specialised.
Personal life and family
Poulsen is survived by his two sons, Anders and Peter, his life partner Ida, and four grandchildren.
For many who worked alongside him, family and business were closely linked. Sons visiting terminals or company offices during school years was not unusual. It reflected the generational continuity that defined the firm’s ownership structure.
Whether future leadership will remain within the family has not been publicly detailed.
