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Last year was unquestionably very good for French transport and logistics business Norbert Dentressangle. Figures released two weeks ago show it made an operating profit of €69.2m (£47.1m) on a turnover of €1.6bn (£1.1bn) - a return of a little under 5% and turnover growth of 15% year-on-year. It's fair to say the company is in rude financial health and when we meet its president, Jean-Claude Michel, at the giant SITL exhibition in Paris, he gives the air of a man who's content with his lot in  life.

Michel is quick to point out the firm isn't resting on its laurels and is pursuing a strategy of aggressive financial growth both organically and through acquisitions. It's this latter aspect where ND has been particularly rapacious. Last year its logistics arm entered the Spanish market for the first time with the takeover of an E20 turnover firm in Madrid and continued its push eastwards with the purchase of a 120 truck transport firm in Arad, Romania. Prior to that in 2005 it consolidated in its home market when it bought the French operation of TNT Logistics and French pallet business Venditelli.

Michel says the firm has no intention of abandoning this strategy: "We have two objectives - firstly to develop through internal growth because last year we were able to have a 7-8% increase there.

"Secondly there's external growth. There are two main approaches - firstly to complete our network in countries. Secondly ND has an objective of making very important  acquisitions that will reinforce us in transport and logistics, firstly in Europe and then outside that for freight forwarding.

"So we are looking after some acquisitions to change the size of the group - we have the human and financial resources to do that."

Certainly rumours circulating last year indicated that ND had been in talks with French competitor Geodis over a merger or takeover which would have produced a French rival to the likes of DHL Exel and Kuehne + Nagel.

Of course there's an argument that says ND would have gone someway to achieving that had it purchased the whole of TNT Logistics, not just its French operation. However Michel says that back in 2005 ND wasn't ready for such a move: "It was called a worldwide logistics business but it was not the same as ours and it would have been difficult to integrate the two and at that time we were not read to develop business outside Europe.

"It was also not easy to imagine how we would split it up from the other TNT operations."

Eastern Europe has been an area where the firm has, along with every other Western transport and logistics company, achieved rapid growth. In fact the shift eastwards has helped ND improve the margin in its transport business, says Michel, with the transfer of a large part of its international transport operation to Poland. He adds: "The margin increase in 2006 was mainly through us moving trucks from the West to the East. We now have 600 vehicles in Poland, just two years ago we only had 50 based there."

The company has been strangely quiet in the UK, where although it generates a turnover of around £44m, it has been overtaken by some of the emerging markets. But all this might be about to change. Certainly its public coveting of UK haulier Eddie Stobart grabbed the headlines but this masks an underlying determination to grow its UK presence quickly. Michel says it should be much bigger here by the end of 2007, either in its transport or logistics business, but so far has no other takeover targets.

That's as maybe, but you'd be surprised if it wasn't casting an eye over the likes of Christian Salvesen and TDG, two logistics firms generally thought to be underperforming and lagging some way behind the big two of DHL-Exel and Winancton.

But as Patrice Schneider, ND's UK managing director reveals, firms have been keen to offer themselves for takeover as well. There have been several recent approaches from transport companies in the £8-10m turnover bracket, but ranging all the way up to £40m. He says the ideal size is something much larger: "The group has the financial ability to purchase companies that are much larger than we are.

"If something came in at £10-20m then we would look at it but otherwise we would be looking more at £100m, the sort of size that will really make an impact. Below £50m what's the point?"

Schneider says a smaller business would only be considered if it offered something specific to ND or its customers, adding "We want to be a significant player in the UK market and need to secure someone in the £100m region. That would take us where we want to be very quickly - it's taken us four years to get the UK ready to assimilate a company of that size."

The first priorities are logistics and transport business, but Schneider reveals the second phase of its UK expansion will include the acquisition of a pallet distribution business.

The environment - the big red goes green

Whilst the environment might suddenly be high on everyone's agenda, ND has been quietly ploughing this particular green furrow for the past two years. Michel explains: "Two years ago we decided to be the first truck operator in Europe to be a real force in sustainable development.

"It's a big gamble when you have 6,000 trucks - it's very difficult to imagine how you would manage that."

He says there has been a definite shift in customer focus - previously where they would insist on trying to make a modal shift from road to rail, there is now a widespread acceptance that rail is not a viable alternative and the emphasis has moved to managing the impact of road operations. He says: "Our customers are very keen to work with us on this, and when we are making a sales proposal it gives us the opportunity to say that we can reduce their carbon emissions. It is becoming a commercial argument."

When starting the initiative ND introduced four KPIs to measure its progress against: CO2 emissions the safety of its trucks its warehouses to meet ISO1401 (an environmental standard) and to promote people internally.

Michel adds: "Our people are proud to work in an organisation that has considered sustainable development as a real issue. We are very pleased with the first results and hoping to build on that."