Duisport reaches China through Collyer
Duisport, a commercial port operator located in Duisburg, Germany, has taken steps to enlarge its footprint in China with Hong Kong's Collyer Logistics acting as its agent. Duisburg, in former days a major manufacturing town at the confluence of the rivers Ruhr and Rhine in the centre of Germany, is the largest inland port in the world and today one of the most important logistics locations in Europe. The Port of Duisburg has been made more attractive to China shippers, say its promoters, because 30 million Europeans live within 150 kilometres of the "duisport" docks. That should be important to China, said duisport president and CEO Erich Staake, because "Europe is becoming the most important market for Chinese products". To reach Duisburg, which already does a third of its trade with China, is to reach the heart of retail Europe, the firm says. "That's why we have 16 out of the 20 major logistics worldwide companies operating here. They know how important the right choice is for distributing cargo," said Mr Staake. "We have hundreds of companies around duisport. They are using it as their distribution centre and that's very much in line with the enlargement of the EU, which puts Germany at the centre," he said. This year, duisport is expecting to handle 800,000 TEU. "It's not comparable to Shenzhen, Shanghai or Hong Kong, but we are growing 30 per cent a year," said Mr Staake. Collyer Logistics will spread the duisport word through its seven branches on the mainland including in all major ports. The Hong Kong forwarder acts as a handling agent for other NVOCC (non-vessel owning common carrier) companies around the world, but mostly in Europe. Collyer's growth from China to Europe has been significant this year, they also enjoy an expanding business into North America and Africa.
Said Collyer Shanghai managing director Andy Russell: "Our growth is considerable. We started three years ago and now have our own Chinese company based in Shanghai with seven branch offices around the main port cities. Approximately 70 per cent of our business is from China to Europe. "You can see that there is substantial investment coming into China," he said. "The Chinese government is placing a lot of emphasis on how it manages and handles its logistics problems in the future. This will be critical for its continued success. That's why they are encouraging more and more logistics companies like Collyer, to set up their organisations as 100 per cent foreign owned. Mr Russell believes the reason this is occurring is because the manufacturing base will continue to migrate to western China. Logistics will play a key role in maintaining China's cost effectiveness. "If you place a map of China over a map of the United States, the land masses are almost the same. However, China has only one coastline. The Chinese government recognises this and the challenge is making logistics work so that China continues to prosper and progress," said Mr Russell.
Said Collyer Shanghai managing director Andy Russell: "Our growth is considerable. We started three years ago and now have our own Chinese company based in Shanghai with seven branch offices around the main port cities. Approximately 70 per cent of our business is from China to Europe. "You can see that there is substantial investment coming into China," he said. "The Chinese government is placing a lot of emphasis on how it manages and handles its logistics problems in the future. This will be critical for its continued success. That's why they are encouraging more and more logistics companies like Collyer, to set up their organisations as 100 per cent foreign owned. Mr Russell believes the reason this is occurring is because the manufacturing base will continue to migrate to western China. Logistics will play a key role in maintaining China's cost effectiveness. "If you place a map of China over a map of the United States, the land masses are almost the same. However, China has only one coastline. The Chinese government recognises this and the challenge is making logistics work so that China continues to prosper and progress," said Mr Russell.
