Eurotrans Overseas - Chile - Project Cargo Weekly

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Interview with

Mr. Italo Lizana

CEO

Tell us about the history of Eurotrans. Does the name mean that you have a European background?

Eurotrans was born in May of 2013 as a specialized arm in project cargo for an Italian freight forwarder. Since then, we have developed our freight forwarding in many other areas, as well as the work that we solely conduct.

That connection with Europe, especially Italy, explains the origins of our name.

Do you have experience in handling project cargo and, if so, could you provide us with a few examples?

Yes, we have experience in project cargo, mainly for the piping industry and also transporting minerals like lithium and barite. Transporting oversized iron pieces is another of our specialities.

We also handle exports to South and Central America, being mainly Panamá, Ecuador, Perú, Bolivia, Brazil for example. We handle import reception from mainly India, Turkey, the USA, China and Germany as well.

Chile is a beautiful country and it is a very long country in distance. Can you tell us about the size lengthwise of your country and elaborate a bit on the main ports that are used for handling project cargo?

The length of Chile is around 4.300 kilometres and about the length of the South Pole

The main projects ports are:
NORTH ZONE: Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, Puerto Angamos, Coquimbo
CENTRAL ZONE: Valparaíso and San Antonio
SOUTH ZONE: San Vicente, Coronel, Lirquén, Puerto Montt & Punta Arenas

How is customs clearance being handled in Chile? is it generally difficult? Do you have any good advice for would-be exporters to Chile?

It’s not at all difficult, depending on the income restrictions of each product, especially those of plant and animal origin. Chilean customs even work hard to reduce bureaucratic barriers for imports and, especially, for national exports.

My advice is to verify the existing customs restrictions before sending the products.

Chile is also the transhipment country for the landlocked country of Bolivia. Which port(s) are being used for this and is that something that you can arrange?

The main ports who are used by the Bolivian importers/exporters in Chile are Iquique and Arica, and yes, we can arrange export and reception there, with the cooperation of our agent in Bolivia, of course.

I once visited Easter Island and that was a five-hour flight from Santiago due west over the Pacific. How on Earth do you get material and supplies out to those remote islands? Further, how often is that possible?

I have not had the pleasure yet of visiting Easter Island, but there are two ways of transport there – by sea or air freight. Mainly provided by just one national airline & naval vessels. Only a few sailings per week.

Tell us about your career in logistics. When did you start? what made you choose this career in the first place?

I started in logistics around 2004, working for an international freight forwarder. After studying as a commercial engineer at a Chilean university, I developed my career in multiple areas: mainly operations, customer service and sales. Then I ended up specialising in project cargo, finished completing my logistics instruction and became the head of Eurotrans.