Interview with
Ms. Marisa Helena Lopes de Oliveira
Branch Manager
First of all Marisa, could you tell our readers a little about your own career in logistics. What makes a woman in Chile choose a career in logistics in the first place?
I am Brazilian and started my career in logistics long ago when I was young at Zim Israeli Lines in Santos, Sao Paulo. From there, I worked with some other shipping lines till I finally moved to a freight forwarder and discovered a whole world of new service possibilities including project cargo. The first project cargo shipment I participated in was the shipment of an asphalt plant from the south of Brazil to an internal location in Ghana – such an awesome experience.
Then 13 years ago, I moved to Chile and joined a freight forwarder specialized in wine shipments on flexitanks. Later on, I moved to logistics of ISO tanks (haz and non-haz chemicals haz), and finally I arrived at Manuport Logistics, Chile in January 2021.
Now turning to Manuport, what can you tell us about the company? I believe your office is part of a larger group. Is that right?
That is correct – Manuport Logistics belongs to the EUROPORTS GROUP.
It is always a pleasure to talk about Manuport Logistics. It all started in 1926 when Northern Shipping was established. Since then with mergers, new offices, and acquisitions of other companies, we now have 19 offices worldwide with more than 400 full time employees and a turnover of Eur300,000,000. This enables us to offer the market the services of ocean freight (conventional and bulk), barging solutions, road transport, project cargo, warehousing & re-packing, 4PL services, air freight, liquid services, customs, control tower, and rail transport.
However, in my opinion, you can find the best part of Manuport Logistics in the people who work here– they have the mindset of people who look beyond, with fast thinking, but never forgetting humanity.
Do you have experience in handling project cargoes? If so could you elaborate a bit and give us a few examples?
Sure, one of the projects I participated in was the shipment of an asphalt plant on a BB vessel, shipped parts of an Airbus turbine engine on an Antonov, shipped yachts, drilling machines.
Chile is a very, shall we say, extremely long country although narrow. This must mean logistical challenges. Do you also provide inland logistics services in Chile? Please tell our readers about the variety of your countryside and the length of your country?
You are correct. Chile is 4.200 kms long, and the width varies from 15-445km. It has a population of 19 mill people with 9 million concentrated in the Metropolitan área of Santiago and the remaining 10 million spread along the country. There is just 1 international airport in the country located here in Santiago.
All of that summed up contributes to a particular condition which is the limited availability of logistics resources in the north and south of the country since the majority of the companies are concentrated in the area of Santiago, and the ports we have are in the Region Central: Valparaiso and San Antonio. However, with the passing of the years and with the companies which were installed mainly in the north (mining and solar industry) and some in the south (solar industry), some terminals were built, and many trucking companies opened branches in other cities to attend to this new demand. So now, it is easier to move any equipment one might need inside of the country from the north to the south.
How about customs clearance? Is it easy? Difficult?
Chilean Customs are very friendly and restrictive at the same time. You have to do things according to the law. Yet, the majority of the procedures are done online, so this usually makes things easy.
What are the main ports used in Chile for the offloading of project and general cargoes? Are there some ports that you recommend in particular?
The ports, in general, have good infrastructure, so choosing a port will depend mainly on where the cargo will be taken to in the first place.
We have the ports in the north (Antofagasta, Mejillones, Iquique), the center of the country (Valparaiso and San Antonio), the south (Talcahuano, San Vicente, Coronel, Lirquen), and the far south (Puerto Montt – although it is usually not used for containers).
In Chile, the most important thing to know is the cargo’s final destination. With that, we can define the optimal POD.
How is the current economic condition in Chile, also in light of the COVID crisis situation?
This county has an amazing ability to recover. We had a 18.2% economic growth rate during the past 3 months, and 35% of the people who lost their jobs due to the Pandemic are already employed. So, we can only expect the best.
How is it best for our readers to get in touch with you?My email is m.deoliveira@manuport-logistics.cl and my cell phone is +569 97377880.
https://www.manuport-logistics.com/
