Dear Readers,
It is Thursday the 5th of April and already a quarter of the year 2018 has passed!
I am going to talk a bit this time about networks. We all have our own personal networks and we also have our business networks. Sometimes it seems like it doesn’t really matter what skills you have if you don’t have the network to open the door.
With the gigantic rise of the internet, networks have become easier to build and maintain but also tends to make us forget how to make a phone call and pay someone an actual visit.
In the office setting the same thing happens, colleagues often communicate by email instead of standing up and walking over to speak to each other.
I believe that the formula for success is a mix of the two. You have to have personal contact and you have to be able to look the person in the eye. That’s why meeting face to face will never be replaced by the internet and thank God for that.
I have met many “desk generals” who from behind a computer screen give a solid impression but when emerging from that same computer screen suddenly diminish in stature.
Networks in shipping and freight forwarding have also exploded in recent year. For many of us, not a day passes without an invitation to join a new network lands in our inboxes. Some networks are naturally more reliable than others and in the coming weeks, we shall be interviewing some of them that are active in the freight forwarding business. At some point, I will introduce a new network that I personally have a hand in establishing called Cross Ocean.
Anyhow, what I wanted to say is that for this week’s issue I have compiled a list 7 interesting interviews that Project Cargo Weekly already published. I hope you will enjoy reading them if you haven’t or having a fresh read if you have.
Naturally, I am providing the usual trade intelligence, wise words, video and photo of the week and last but not least don’t forget that if you are looking for competent staffs feel free to place an ad in our job openings section below. Contact me for further details on this subject.
Wishing you a good read and until next week,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
The First Foreign New-Hire in Sinotrans’ 60-Year History
Interview with
Mr. Tyler Godoff
Were you particularly interested in freight forwarding and transportation? Why Sinotrans?
I was not searching for a role in a freight forwarding company. Instead, during my senior year, I spent my time trying to land a position in a leading Chinese company. In 2009, companies like Tencent and Alibaba were certainly relevant, but not nearly as powerful as the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs). And that is exactly why I jumped at the opportunity to work for Sinotrans.
Liburnia Maritime Agency – A Shipping Agent in all Former Yugoslavia Ports
Interview with
Mr. Marin Skufca
What are your main activities in shipping?
Our main activity today is project chartering and freight forwarding. Most of the company revenue is coming from chartering activities. We’re proud to have the reference of handling big projects worldwide! Our business activity is not limited only to the Balkans. For example we had a big shipment of 3 tugs, each 750 metric tons from Korea to Iraq. For the purpose of good preparation and safe loading we had a team on site for more than one month. Port agency activities remain very important as well.
Höegh Autoliners – A Leading Global Provider of RoRo Transportation Services
Interview with
Mr. Oskar Orstadius
The vessels types service the Asia/Africa trade? What is the ramp capacity and door opening? Do you accept project cargo (static and rolling) for all the services into Africa?
On this trade we basically have two vessel types in service. They have a door opening between 5,0 and 5,1m and ramp capacity ranging from 100-150ton. We do accept all types of project cargo, both rolling and static. We have been most successful in loading many different types of commodities into Africa. If cargo is static it will be loaded on a roll trailer (mafi) before being loaded on the vessel to ensure a smooth loading and discharge operation.
A Shipping Veteran from the United Kingdom
Interview with
Mr. Les Thorpe
What are the differences in the shipping & freight forwarding industry between the past and the present?
Personally I feel like it used to be a people’s industry, populated by real professionals who knew if you knew your stuff or not. Experience and expertise really mattered.
Today it appears to be run by accountants and university graduates using computers who think they know-it-all and seem only to be interested in the immediate bottom line.
Jasra Logistics Sdn Bhd – The Sultanate of Brunei
Interview with
Mr. Mitchell Leong
Tell us a bit about some of the projects that you have handled in/out of Brunei.
Brunei’s main industry is oil & gas, and with the downturn in this industry, not many projects are in the pipeline. Luckily two major infrastructure projects are being carried out, refinery island managed and constructed by Hengyi Industries (China) and a bridge linking 2 districts of Brunei called the Temburong Bridge project, managed and constructed by Daelim Industries (Korea).
With the great networking within CLC projects, Shin Jo Logitech, Korea appointed Jasra as their local handling partner in Brunei for the Temburnong Bridge Project. Our scope is to supply local handling services including: port clearance, transportation and lifting at the client’s site.
Empresas Taylor – An Integral Cargo Service Provider in Chile
Interview with
Mr. Christopher Taylor Pollmann
What are the main activities, or shall we say core business of your company today? Can you give us a brief overview of your group? Do you have offices outside of Chile?
As I highlighted before, over the years we have developed a variety of additional services – all transport related – that add value to our core business. As such additional services, I can mention the most relevant ones: our brokerage division (fishmeal and bunkers), fleet (pilot boats and tugs) and logistics operations (ocean, air and land transport and depot services) which are mainly focused on project cargoes, liquid bulk, and roro cargoes. We cover Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia with our own offices.
Farasoobar International Forwarder & Transport – Tehran, Iran
Interview with
Mr. Farzad Saffarzadeh
What is your professional background and why did you decide to establish a transportation and freight forwarding company?
I have BS in physics and a Masters degree in industrial engineering from Amir Kabir university. Actually I started freight forwarding with my elder brother who acquaint me with the alphabet of the business. From 2005 I organized my own setup under the Farasoobar Int’l Forwarder and Shipping Agency flag and have now been in this field for more than 28 years. I am also a trainer in the FIATA training school/Iran freight Forwarders Association Training Center. At the IRU academy training center in Iran chamber of commerce I am a DG trainer and instructor of CPC drivers.
APL Introduces China Bangkok Express Service
APL today announced the launch of the China Bangkok Express (CBX) service, a new shortsea service that directly links South China and Thailand each week.
Characterised by competitive transit times, the CBX service promises the industry’s fastest connection from Nansha to Bangkok in four days. Also designed to transport special cargo, this service offers reefer and breakbulk solutions to facilitate these shipments.
COSCO Shipping’s Takeover of OOCL to Close by End-June
COSCO Shipping’s planned acquisition of Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) is on track to be completed by the end of June, the company’s vice chairman Huang Xiaowen said on Tuesday.
COSCO is still answering questions from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on the deal, and is also awaiting a number of domestic approvals, Huang told a press conference in Shanghai.
Telecommunications Infrastructure
The Chilean Government has Awarded Huawei Marine the Contract to Build a Subsea Cable Connecting with the Country’s Far South
Huawei Marine will partner with Chile’s Comunicación y Telefonía Rural (CTR) to build the Fiber Óptica Austral (FOA), a 2,800km connection from Puerto Montt to the Patagonian cities of Caleta Tortel and Punta Arenas through to Puerto Williams in the far south. Read more…
Waste Management
Greek Helector-Actor to Build a Modern Waste Recycling Plant in Russia
As soon as this year, the construction of a modern waste recycling plant near the Russian city of St. Petersburg, in the village of Levashovo, will be launched. The investor is the Greek company Helector-Actor.
Plants & Processing
THK to Set Up Unit in AP
THK, a Japanese company that manufactures linear motion guides for industrial equipment and transportation vehicles, said on Tuesday that it will be setting up a manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh. Read more…
Essex Europe Expands with Serbian Factory
Essex Europe has laid the foundation stone for its factory in Zrenjanin, Serbia. A total of EUR 30.4 million will be invested in the round magnet wire/winding wire manufacturing facility. Read more…
Power Generation
Capstone Secures First Signature Series Order in Portugal for Textile Mill CHP Project
Capstone Turbine Corporation (www.capstoneturbine.com) (Nasdaq:CPST), the world’s leading clean technology manufacturer of microturbine energy systems, announced today an order for a C600 Signature Series microturbine to provide combined heat and power (CHP) to a Portuguese textile mill. Micropower Europe, Capstone’s distributor for Portugal and Spain, secured the order. Read more…
Breakbulk China – Opening Ceremony
