Belgium, Poland, Germany, Austria, Romania, Slovenia and Serbia: Anyone who takes a look at the long list of countries, in which Rhenus Commodity Logistics has already established its own companies, will hardly be able to believe that the beginnings of the Rhenus subsidiaries only date back to three years ago!
“At the time, we wanted to build a company which would serve international routes, and not limit its services just to its own terminals”, explained Patrick Schaeffer, a member of the board of directors of Rhenus Commodity Logistics. In this way, it is possible for the company to offer its customers services for very specific industries – this particularly applies to the agricultural, steel and building materials sectors.
Multimodality – the magic word
Multimodality is the magic word for when the modes of transport know no bounds. By specialising in selected industries, Rhenus Commodity Logistics has been able to adapt particularly precisely to the requirements of these industries. The motto is less is more, and this is why Rhenus Commodity Logistics has not only transformed from a newcomer to an established player in a very short space of time, but has also been able to branch out further and further into Europe. This has resulted in long-term partnerships and profitable growth.
Rhenus Commodity Logistics does not shy away from difficult challenges. Neither complex supply chains, nor borders are an obstacle: Across Europe, customers’ orders are both imported and exported via the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp, the northern ports of Belgium and Germany, and the various seaports in Poland, as well as via the ports of Constanza in Romania, Koper in Slovenia and Rijeka in Croatia. Furthermore, Rhenus Commodity Logistics also organises all the pre- and post-carriage, taking all the modes of transport into account, be these road, rail or inland waterways. In the area of inland waterway transportation, Rhenus also receives the necessary support from other companies, such as the Rhenus Partnership.
Special equipment
Complex tasks frequently require the appropriate equipment. In Romania, for example, Rhenus Commodity Logistics uses special grain wagons to transport grain from the growing areas in the interior of the country for shipment, via Constanza, especially to the Arab regions. New megatrailers are used for the transport of agricultural machinery to the 30,000 square metre warehouse in Russe, Bulgaria. “The transportation of agricultural goods in south-east Europe is an important part of our daily business”, emphasises Patrick Schaeffer. However, Rhenus Commodity Logistics also regularly transports steel from Russia, whereby the shipments arrive at the Belgian port of Antwerp by ship and are then taken to Germany by inland waterway.
It is not just about pure transportation, but also about the processes before and after. Products often have to be temporarily stored, the transportation thereof insured and customs formalities completed, not to mention the document management of the forwarding services. However, thanks to holistic planning and organisation, even complex processes can be individually designed and interlinked.
Rhenus Commodity Logistics places particular importance on long-term customer loyalty and retention. “Both ourselves and our customers benefit from joint growth,” Schaeffer emphasises.