this week we speak with
Sam Aertssen, Business Unit Manager Transport & Logistics,
Aertssen Group, Belgium
THE "WHO-WHERE-WHAT" CHALLENGE
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Born in 1981, Sam has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. He has been working at Aertssen Group for the last 15 years. He is the Director of the Transport & Logistics division and member of the board of Aertssen Group. |
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Tell us a few words about Aertssen Group. Who owns the company? |
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Aertssen is a family owned company established in 1964. We are a multidisciplinary company, active in a large scale of sectors. The most important are earth-moving, mobile cranes, renewable energy and transport & logistics. |
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Where are your offices located? |
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Our headquarters are located in Stabroek Belgium, close to the port of Antwerp. We also have branches in Verrebroek, Kallo, Zeebrugge, Zedelgem and Westerlo with local offices, as well as inside and outside storage capacity. We also have branches in the Middle East and Morocco. |
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Which is Aertssen Transport & Logistics specialty and service range? |
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Exceptional transport with a modern fleet throughout Europe, with a specialization in wind energy, boat and yacht transport and agriculture machines. Our experts will also take care of your project cargo form manufacturer to end client. We provide engineering solutions, 3D simulations, road survey, permits, cranes, pilot cars, etc… |
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Which ports are mainly used for project cargo in Belgium? |
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Certainly Antwerp, the second biggest port in Europe with strong connections to all continents, especially to West Africa. This makes the port of Antwerp a very important transit port worldwide. |
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Is shipping a competitive sector in Belgium? How do you ensure that you will stand out? |
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Yes it is, all known forwarders have an office in the port of Antwerp. We try to excel with a strong customer-oriented approach. Our local knowledge of the port is often worth gold, and we also have services such as exceptional transport, cranes and storage available within our own company. This, in combination with an experienced and motivated team, is often the key to success. |
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Which projects have you handled recently? |
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For a few months now, one of our terminals has a direct train connection with the French city of Grenoble. Our logistics department receives cranes and bulldozers by freight train via this connection directly from the Caterpillar factory over there. This keeps thousands of trucks off the road. This summer we are building 38 wind turbines in the Belgium landscape. All parts will be delivered by our own transport company from factories in Denmark, Germany and Czech Republic to the hardstands for installation. |
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Do you have any ambition for Aertssen Group which hopefully will materialize in the future? |
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Yes, we are building new headquarters for the transport & logistics department on the left bank of the Scheldt river. In total we are talking about 200.000m² of warehouses and storage area. A part of the site is already operational, finalization is scheduled for 2021. |
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What made you join the industry? |
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It's mostly natural growth that has brought us to this point, customers often asked us to offer storage and transportation capacity. Due to the growth of our company beyond national borders, we also had to ship machines more often to abroad destinations. Ultimately, we therefore started our own forwarding department. |
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What do you like the most about your business? |
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Solving complex problems for our customers every day and working with people from all over the world is very challenging. There is not a single unpleasant day in this sector. |
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How could one approach Aertssen Transport & Logistics? |
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You can reach us via the following email addresses:
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