CQR Antwerp take over the 50% of ATO terminal shares in port of Antwerp

CQR Antwerp successfully completes acquisition of the ATO terminal in partnership deal with NMBS LOGISTICS

VAN MOER LOGISTICS, Our CQR member in Antwerp, has taken the next step in its intermodal transport strategy with the purchasing of ATO terminal in the Port of Antwerp, in collaboration with NMBS LOGISTICS. The agreement between the two firms, announced last Friday, means that VAN MOER will takeover 50% of the terminal port.

logistics companies and suppliers
logistics companies and suppliers

The ATO terminal covers almost 175,000 square-metres and processes over 500,000 TEU’s per year along its ½ kilometre-long quay. With the arrival of VAN MOER LOGISTICS, this is sure to increase, while Belgian malt producer BOORMALT will be investing in additional production capacity at the 6th dock of the terminal.

VAN MOER’s barge service, iBarge, which operates daily calls at the Vilvoorde terminal, Umicore and Blue Gate, is now complete with the incorporation of the ATO terminal. Apart from servicing water-bound logistics, ATO will also function as a primary hub for the hinterland corridor.

Jo Van Moer, owner of VAN MOER, and Patrick Lecluyse, CEO, said “We are delighted with this partnership, which has allowed the synergies to reach their full potential and create the missing link in our intermodal strategy. We have found the perfect partner with Boormalt and are looking forward to their cooperation”.

We’d like to wish VAN MOER all the best with this impressive new venture!

Interview with CQR Tehran

“Freight Forwarders can create markets and demand, facilitating the trade cycle all over the world.’’

logistics business partner
logistics business partner

1. What prompted you to venture into the freight forwarding industry?

A. Actually, I started freight forwarding with my elder brother who acquainted me with the alphabets of this 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 over 28 years. I have been able to explore and show my counter parts how freight forwarders have a very important role in the industry in each country and that it’s not a simple job of just selling freight. Freight Forwarders can create markets and demand, facilitating the trade cycle all over the world.

Q. Can you shed some light on the geographical importance of Iran?

A. We have an inherent advantage due to the Persian Gulf’s connection to CIS, Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as to the South Quafqas area and Russia. We have about 670 Km of the coastal border with the Caspian Sea in the North connecting the Bandar Anzali and Amirabad ports to Aktau, Turkmenbashi, and Astrakhan. On the south of Iran we have 1,770 km coastal border connecting the Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf. The unique location of the country makes all modes of transportation (air, sea, road or rail) possible.

Q. Tell us something about the rail network in your country.

A. Several rail projects are in the pipeline to upgrade and complete the current railway network infrastructure. Currently we can send shipments by rail from Bandar Abbas to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. There are also rail links up to Astara Iran and the Russia rail network is connected up to Astara Azerbaijan and hopefully in the near future the rail connection will be finished between Astara Iran and Azerbaijan. The South Quafqkas rail connection is now possible up to Yerevan and liner containers can be sent from European ports up to Yerevan and then by truck to Iran. We also have rail links to Europe through Turkey’s rail network via our western borders, this also can be connected to the CIS by changing wagons.

Q. Can you give us a concrete example of Iran’s route advantage?

A. Well.. When we ship containers from Bandar Abbas to Baku the trucker should drive about 2270 km, out of which 1944 km are in Iran. The same advantage exists for other destinations. The other advantage is that we move containers by the same trailers all the way to their final destination and return empty containers back to Bandar Abbas. This safeguards the goods against multiple loading/unloading in transhipment.

logistics business partner
logistics business partner

Q. Can you give me some examples of project cargo you have handled in the recent past?

A. Please see the following photos of some projects we have handled via Iran to CIS. The latest one consisted of two girders from Bandar Abbas to Baku.

Q. Is customs clearance in Iran normally done in the port for inland bound cargo or can it be done at the final destination, say Tehran?

A. Final customs clearing can be done either at the port of arrival or at any domestic inland destination as a bonded shipment, subject to the destination’s customs having the authority to accept the relevant goods.

CQR Manama/Bahrain ships mobile firearms range of 20 tons/174 cbm

CQR Manama/Bahrain has used its extensive experience in freights to ship a mobile firearms training range from Bahrein to Poland

CQR member in Manama/Bahrain, TAKHLEES SHIPPING AGENCIES, accomplished the task of transporting a mobile firearms training range from Bahrain to Gdansk, via Damam, in January this year.

international logistics service provider
international logistics service provider

 

An extremely professional and competent team was required for transporting the heavy range which weighed around 20,865.000 KGM/ 174 CBM. Takhlees Shipping successfully shipped the range from Bahrain to Damman by road from where a Bahri Shipping Line Vessel moved it to Poland.

Congratulations to the team!

CQR Stuttgart achieves a remarkable feat by moving oversized shred press

CQR Stuttgart ships three heavy lift pieces of more than 230 tons from Germany to Scotland

Emons Air & Sea, CQR member in Stuttgart, moved a dismantled shred press from Germany to Scotland at the end of August. The shred press consisted of three oversized heavy lift pieces of 92, 82.5 and 58 tons that had to be transported. Since the 3.90 m wide truck was carrying a total weight of 143.8 tons, a special road survey was required for the entire journey whose final destination was near Edinburgh.

logistics companies
logistics companies

Ever since the company was set up in 1928, Emons Air & Sea has stood for dependable and flexible services in the transport and logistics sector. Their professional team and their technological know-how has allowed them to accomplish this challenging shipment with ease

We congratulate CQR Stuttgart for completing the transport with utmost customer satisfaction and wish them the best to accomplish many more similar achievements in the future.

Another feather in the cap for CQR Douala

 CQR Douala triumphs a laborious charter to UN Office, Bria

CQR Douala, recently successfully managed a laborious transport of a charter vessel from Douala to the UN office in Bria, Central African Republic (CAR). This was a tremendous feat since Bria is known for rebel controlled areas near the Kotto river.

Agora Shipping basically took to themselves to first remove the charter from the ship and then load the truck at Douala port. There, they had to go through customs clearance and road procedures BGFT / Barc to endure a long road transport from Douala to Bria. When at CAR, they again had to go customs clearance at Bangui and finally offload at the UN office at Bria. This was a laborious and difficult transport as seen in the pictures but Agora accomplished the task at hand easily.

international logistics service provider
international logistics service provider

Agora Shipping & Logistics is a company of Agora group specializing in transport to difficult areas due to their extensive experience. They cater to the supply of integrated solutions in the field of logistics, shipping, customs, relocations, national and international transport, etc. both by sea and by air.

Conqueror takes immense pride in having Agora Shipping & Logistics in our network, as one of our members and congratulates them on their big achievement.

CQR Callao/Lima transports a 126 tons-machine from Peru to Chile

CQR Callao/Lima has successfully delivered a heavy machine via RORO to Valparaíso, San Antonio 

International Freight Shipping S.A.C. has successfully transported a very heavy machine from Peru to Chile. The shipment, which weighted 126,480 kg, departed from Callao’s port (Peru) and was shipped to Valparaíso, San Antonio (Chile) by using a RORO vessel.

logistics companies and suppliers
logistics companies and suppliers

Thanks to its highly committed and professional team and its specialization in maritime transport and national- international cargos, IFS has been able to accomplish this complex task efficaciously and meeting their quality standards.

“Our service philosophy is based on Quality, Efficiency, Innovation and Passion for what we do, enabling us together, to be the first choice for our customers and strategic partners. Our customers’ success is our success”, states Reynir Gislason, Executive President

Well done to IFS team!

The September Edition of the Conqueror Newsletter is now ready!

The September Edition of the Conqueror Newsletter has just been released

In it, it is possible to find all the information regarding Conqueror’s 7th Annual Meeting, as well as very interesting news and interviews from fellow members or cities needing coverage. Additionally, the article about Conqueror’s establishment as the largest freight forwarding network worldwide can be read. Check it out here!

freight agents network
freight agents network

 

CQR Chengdu starts weekly rail service to Europe

Their regular rail console service was launched in August 2016 and marked a year of running.

Conqueror member in Chengdu, has recently started a weekly rail service from China to Warsaw (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Rotterdam (Holland) and Budapest (Hungary).

Utilizing Chinese government’s infrastructure for the New Silk Road, Air Sea Transport Inc. has launched its professional railway services. The “New Silk Road” was announced in 2013 to facilitate overland and maritime trade between China, Europe, Middle East and Central Asia. As a result,  there are many different routes already established.

Adding to those, Air Sea Transport Inc. has started weekly rail routes from China to Poland, Germany, Holland, Hungary or Czech Republic, among other European cities. To achieve this, they can use any service to deliver the cargo like the truck, rail, barge, air etc.

 

Rail proves to be more advantageous over sea and air in many ways. Although air is faster, it is quite expensive and sea freight takes too long. This is especially true for all cargos between northern mainland China and Poland, Baltic area, East Europe, etc.

Rail comes across as the perfect solution which is not too expensive and also doesn’t take too long. Air Sea Transport Inc. also doesn’t take any local charges in Europe for their rail console unlike as for sea freight LCL which can turn out to be quite complicated and expensive. This helps save the customer from overcharge, etc. Not just that, for ease of customers, they can provide combination cargo services which is a mix of rail-air services and the freight is much lower than sea-air services.

However, as for all operations and logistics, there are many other factors to be considered for rail services as well like rail terminals being away from warehouses, lack of experienced resources, etc. The best thing about Air Sea Transport rail services are that since they have been established for the past 5 years, they have gained considerable edge and experience in handling all these matters efficiently.

Conqueror Freight Network convened in Abu Dhabi

A record number of agents from the world’s only truly exclusive network Conqueror Freight Network convened in Abu Dhabi to renew, rekindle and build strong business partnerships

best freight forwarder network
best freight forwarder network

Delegates representing 141 cities across 70 countries made their way to Abu Dhabi for the 5th Annual Conqueror Meeting. “These meetings are vital to both the success of each member as well as the network as a whole,” said Conqueror Managing Director, Antonio Torres.

“Success in the freight forwarding business is in part down to who you know. If agents aren’t meeting partners regularly and building lasting cooperative relationships, a company should expect to be in dire straits in just a few years,” he continued.

“My business it too important to place its fate in a company that I barely know anything about. A website and a few phone calls and emails can only tell me so much. Only by meeting face to face can I have a true sense of an agent’s character and modus operandi,” said one delegate.

It is clear that delegates have found the 5th Annual Conqueror Meeting worthwhile as over 1900 one to one meetings were booked by delegates ahead of the event and every moment in between is being taken up with unscheduled spontaneous business opportunities.

Another delegate had this to say, “This is my annual opportunity to promote our business on an international platform with agents all under one roof at one time. I can’t afford to sit back and relax; every moment, every conversation is an opportunity. We all understand that we can’t beat the multinationals alone; it is a cooperative effort that will enable us to ‘Conqueror the world.”

“Although it’s 5 years since our first meeting, the enthusiasm and commitment of our agents hasn’t dwindled. They return again and again with the same focus and determination as that of our first get together,” explained Mr Torres.

“As well as auditing all applicants prior to entry, we also require agents to have a cooperative spirit. I believe it is this commitment which ensures the success of the network as members meet and work with companies who are as committed as themselves,” said Antonio Torres.
To see the original article, click here.  

Interview with CQR Venice

Stante, which operates as CQR Venice, is one of the ‘big’ players in the international forwarding and logistics market and since its inception it has continually grown year on year; now employing in excess of 150 people.logistics companies Recently we sat down with Managing Director Riccardo Stocco to find out more about the company and the secret to its longevity.

Q. Could you tell us a little about Stante’s history and when you joined the company?

A. The business was founded almost 40 years ago by Robert Stante and it has stayed in the family with the next generation following in his footsteps. The Venice office opened a decade ago and I became involved 5 years later.

Q. What sets Stante apart from other Freight Forwarders?

A. Great customer service! At Stante we believe in being clear about exactly what that entails, so we came up with a 3 pronged customer service ‘value system’.

1. Constant improvements and innovation in the services we offer.

2.Constant quality control monitoring of internal and external systems.

3. Listening to the needs of our customers in order to build lasting relationships with them.

Q. How are these values translated into every day operations at the company?

A. I could give many examples so let me explain one which is more recent. It is the opening of a new ID office where we will implement new software and technology that will then be offered to our customers.

Q. As well as offering your clients ‘every-day’ forwarding services, does Stante specialise in handling certain shipments and what would be your most memorable?

A. We offer 360 degree services and solutions along with legal assistance and customs services in import and export. We readily handle shipments which require special equipment to load them and those which are oversize. Probably the most memorable was a break bulk shipment of 3500 ton, 4500 m3 from the North of Italy to Azerbaijan (via Mersin Port – Turkey). Although the actual goods didn’t have the ‘wow’ factor, the size certainly did!

Q. Stante has been a member of Conqueror since 2011 and has just renewed its membership for the coming year. Why did you choose to join Conqueror as opposed to other networks and what benefits does being part of this global network bring to your company?

A. The exclusivity was definitely an attraction as it has given us the opportunity to be on a level playing field with our competitors. Furthermore with a limited number of agents, we can strike the right balance between competition and opportunity, and the development of lasting relationships.

It is clear that with such a well-established position in the industry and customers at the core of all operations, Stante can only go from strength to strength.