Dear Readers,
It’s Thursday 21st November and it’s time, once again, for our weekly newsletter. I spent last week in Asia and returned two days ago after a long flight from Cebu, Philippines, back to Stockholm via Hong Kong and Helsinki. Whilst in Hong Kong, I had a ten-hour layover, so I went downtown for a meeting. It was with a Finnish guy (elias.heikari@eliron.com.hk) who has experience in track and trace for cargo, moving mainly on-road/rail and often to/from Asia via Central Asia and Russia.
I thought it to be worth going downtown, even though the protests were (and still are) going on just around the corner from where the meeting took place. We all would like to know where our cargo is, let alone where our children are and, not least, where the wife is. So, to that end, a lot of tracking solutions exist. A lot can be done person-to-person via a mobile phone with GPS enabled, but certain trackers do exist for cargo that travels a long distance. You may wish to look below at the introduction of a product has been selling in the market now for some time.
The world showed that life has two sides during our dinner meeting in the Italian restaurant on the sixth floor on the east wing of the Marco Polo hotel. Enjoy this photo and short clip of my view at dinner below.;
Meanwhile, in the west wing of the hotel on Canton Road, where the main entrance is located, this was the view taken from my taxi while rushing back to the airport after the above dinner.
That photo was taken from my backseat taxi window and, miraculously, we managed to steer our way between debris being thrown into the road by protesters, in order to get out towards the highway to the airport. We got stuck there for two hours in a massive traffic jam and were forced to watch hundreds of (mainly masked) youngsters passing us by, shouting slogans in Cantonese. It was intense, as you can see here from this short video clip that I made from the relative safety of my taxi.
I did make my connection to Europe in time, but it was a harrowing time sitting stuck there in the car, unable to move or do anything. There was no danger at any point though, as the protesters were not interested in an overweight westerner going to the airport. They were much more concerned with following their comrades to battle the police at the HK Polytechnic not far from there. It was an experience, that much I can say. I really hope, for the sake of Hong Kong, that there will soon be a dialogue and some reason between the parties involved.
It is often the few that destroy things for the many, and radicalism and vandalism should never be condoned, but I think that bigger political agendas play a role here as well, as I think some have a vested interest in seeing this problem escalate. A few youngsters that I spoke to told me that they feel like they’ve got no hope, and that is perhaps where Hong Kong’s elite has failed to understand that there is a contingent of Hong Kong, below the tycoons and the well-connected businessmen, who want to get onto the ladder.
Those folks were not wearing yellow vests like in Paris, but they were wearing black masks, and were mainly students. When I later listened to the media reports here in Sweden, it was clear to me just how ill-informed and biased some of our official media and TV stations are, and that they also serve their particular political agendas.
The flight home went without a hitch with Finnair. Further, connecting to Stockholm via Helsinki gateway enabled me to land at six-thirty a.m. in Stockholm. The first thing that meets you in Scandinavia is darkness, but at least the fresh air, three happy children and even a happy wife (after I handed over the usual airport gift that I found as recompense for my long trip abroad) are light enough. Diamonds are forever, they say, although it wasn’t a diamond this time, but rather a special high-quality ball-pen so that she can use it while studying Swedish.
My fifteen-day trip to Asia saw me meet with about 125 people in total, the bulk of which meetings took place during the one-to-one meetings at the Cross Ocean and CLC Projects network conferences that I chaired. Also, since each meeting is just ten to fifteen minutes long and everyone meets everyone, it forces the people you meet to cut to the chase and helps you understand if there is a real business opportunity in the future. After all, face to face meetings are what this business is all about and it can never be replaced by social media, internet or robots. I, for one, thank God for that!
On the political front, I understand that the usual Hollywood show (a.k.a US politics) is in full-swing, with loud voices coming from both the Left and Right, attacking each other. It’s indeed a marvel to behold, to see grown-up kindergarteners in full play. The US media must have a field day with it all, because where would they all be if they couldn’t report on small events as ‘breaking news’ to Joe Public?
Understanding the facts means following different news channels, even reading different newspapers and then collecting your views on the matters therein, although I suspect that few actually do that. My above experience in Hong Kong, whilst harrowing, showed me at least that whatever the media reports, it is seldom a full account of the facts. Actually, their ‘facts’ are often overblown to create the maximum amount of scary headlines.
Whilst we are winding down to the last issue of the year 2019 (which will be published on the 28th November), this week we have just two interviews in store for you. The first is a fresh one with Procam in India: an experienced and perceptive project freight forwarder, fully taking advantage of the development of India’s infrastructure.
The second interview is a revisit to Martin Bencher Group, a company that I know intimately. In this age of renewables and ‘green’ hysteria, we must also observe that green power now accounts for a huge and substantial part of all the cargo being moved around the world in the project sector. Martin Bencher shows that it has paid off for them to set up a division catering for this business.
Time will show how long this will last, as I dare say that both the wind turbines and the batteries (from the mega-factories being built) might one day pose, perhaps, an even greater disposal problem for the environment than anything we have ever seen. Moving on from there, we have our usual shipping news, trade intel and some interesting videos, followed of course by wise words to wrap up our newsletter for you.
So, until next week and our final issue of 2019, I remain,
Yours sincerely,
Bo H. Drewsen
bo.drewsen@projectcargo-weekly.com
Procam Logistics – India
Interview with
Mr. Nilesh Kumar Sinha
Director
Will you please tell us about Procam Logistics?
Procam Logistics started in the year 2010 with a clear vision and a mission to be an innovative and process-oriented organization, backed by a management team of industry professionals with a wide area of expertise.
As the name Procam is derived from…
Martin Bencher Group’s Renewable Energy Division
Interview with
Mr. Jeppe Frank
Group CCO
Jeppe, tell us a bit about your background in shipping, why you got into shipping in the first place and when you joined Martin Bencher.
In 1995 I started as a shipping clerk in Aarhus, at Chr. Jensen also called “Russia Jensen”. At that time Chr. Jensen was the agent for all the Shipping companies from Russia and the Baltic states. It was before The Baltics entered…
ICC Incoterms 2020 Mobile Application
Editor’s Note:
Incoterms 2020 are important for everyone in global trade. See below, the announcement of the terms, now also available on the mobile app.
The launch has been very successful with over 10,000 downloads from the Incoterms® community to date. As a reminder, the ICC Incoterms® 2020 Rules app is the only official tool from the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that brings together essential news, information and insight regarding the commercial trade terms in one, easy-to-access location.
Three Transformer Transports Tag Two Awards for Collett & Sons
Editor’s Note:
An impressive win here for the UK by the haulier, Collett & Sons. It’s nice to see that the UK is still providing capable logistics providers and that they can do more than just talk on the island.
In a four-week period Collett deliver three 169 Tonne Super Grid Transformers, a prestigious National Grid project delivering Willenhall, Cellarhead and Lovedean transformers. All three projects involved all pre-planning works, the discharging of each transformer from originating vessel at the dedicated port, delivery, road closures, SPMT operations and final jacking & skidding in to position.
Plans Unveiled for Antwerp XL 2020
Antwerp XL, the world’s only event dedicated exclusively to maritime breakbulk, will have an expanded show floor and an even greater international audience when it returns to the Port of Antwerp on 21st-23rd April 2020.
The inaugural exhibition and conference, held at the largest breakbulk and steel port in Europe, made an impressive debut, attracting attendees from more than 57 nations.
Hapag-Lloyd Doubles Operational Result in the First Nine Months
Editor’s Note:
Nice to see that one shipowner here posts a profit and that it can be achieved even if you dont step on the freight forwarders toes by going direct to the customers. Some owners both breakbulk and container nowadays pay no respect to the forwarders who have brought or bring them the cargoes – but at least I have been told by Hapag that they have a policy to respect the project freight forwarder.
In the first nine months of 2019, Hapag-Lloyd’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) significantly increased to EUR 643 million (9M 2018: EUR 299 million). The group net result rose substantially to EUR 297 million (9M 2018: EUR 13 million). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) surpassed EUR 1.5 billion (9M 2018: EUR 812 million). The EBITDA increase of EUR 699 million includes a positive effect of approximately EUR 341 million caused by the new reporting standards IFRS 16.
Paterson to Build New Manitoba Oat Mill
Paterson GlobalFoods (PFG) has unveiled plans to build a new oat mill in Manitoba.
Announced on Thursday, the $94-million processing facility will be located on 600-acre parcel of land adjacent to Paterson’s already existing inland grain terminal in northwest Winnipeg. Construction is expected to start immediately, according to a company release.
Cosucra Plans Second Pea Protein Processing Plant in Denmark
Cosucra has announced it will open a second pea processing plant in Denmark after completing a €35 million (US$38.5m) expansion of its pea plant in Belgium in 2018. COSUCRA is now in a position to further support its client’s innovation through pea ingredients, including pea protein and this increased capacity will continue its development in the fast-evolving market for plant-based food.
Morocco’s OCP Group Planning Expansion in Brazil
OCP Group, the Morocco-based fertilizer manufacturing conglomerate, is planning to add four new storage sites to its Brazil operations next year. OCP’s CEO for Brazil, Olavio Takenaka (pictured, on the right), told ANBA that warehouses will open in the states of Goiás, Minas Gerais, Pará and Santa Catarina in 2020. Takenaka attended the Brazil Africa Forum this Wednesday (13). The Group’s senior VP for East Africa, Fayçal Benameuri (on the left), was a panelist.
Tönnies Launches Joint Venture in China
The Tönnies Group continues to further their internationalisation strategy and is setting up the first production location outside of Europe. Together with the Dekon Group, a subsidiary of the West Hope Group, Tönnies is now signing a memorandum of understanding for a slaughter and butchering centre in the Sichuan region, initially for two million pigs, which will be run as a joint venture. In a second phase, this will be expanded to six million pigs.
Port of Salalah Corporate Video
Editor’s Note:
Oman is a beautiful country and it also boasts several modern day ports here is one of them, Salalah.
AAL Dampier – Loading Petrochemical Plant Components in Pyeongtaek for Map Ta Phut
Editor’s Note:
Sunrise shipping to the island of Cebu, Philippines, with a container feeder approaching. Picture taken from the Shangri-La resort on nearby Mactan island.
