FESCO Transportation Group Co., Ltd held its first annual meeting in Hong Kong on March 24-26, 2008.
For the first time, the agency meeting welcomed the following: FESCO Liner & Logistics Division and railway operator Transgarant Co., Ltd, a Baltic feeder liner operator; FESCO ESF, a forwarding company; TIS; FESCO Wallem Management; American colleagues; and representatives of the whole FESCO agency network, including a new agent in the South-East Asia — Benline Co., Ltd. The meeting was an informational platform for all companies in the Group who are involved with FESCO's supply chain activities.
The participants of the meeting discussed coordination inside the Group and the most efficient operation of the assets and human resources available within the FESCO Group. The coordination was focused on elimination of parallel offices of each company in the Group and expansion of the companies available at the present moment. According to Vadim Vetolskiy, Managing Director of FESCO Lines Management Ltd., "If Transgarant Co., Ltd., TIS, FESCO Lines Vladivostok Co., Ltd or FESCO-ESF has their own agencies in the Ukraine or cities of Russia, there is no need to establish new agency offices of the FESCO Group. It is reasonable to use the available agencies as a basis and to expand them functionally according to business profiles tailored to FESCO?s needs. We have experienced the positive aspects of such cooperation between Transgarant Co., Ltd., FESCO Lines Vladivostok Co., Ltd. And TIS co., Ltd. in Novosibirsk, so we are going to further develop it in Saint-Petersburg and Ilyichevsk."
During the first day of the meeting, participants discussed operational results of FESCO container lines for 2007. Export volumes exceeded 282 000 TEU with freight amounts reaching over USD 181 million. Export volumes in 2008 are expected to reach at least 453 000 TEU with the total freight amounting to USD 251 million. FESCO Transportation Group Co., Ltd is going to challenge this target through trade geographic expansion and increased sales.
The participants were also informed of the container stock integrated management. According to Vadim Vetolskiy, "Container stock operation in the whole Group and centralized control are the most important elements of the further successful business of the Group. It is crucial to keep the demand for the equipment well-balanced, avoiding ineffective equipment repositioning and decreasing containers expenses, especially when FESCO is rapidly expanding in the Baltic and the Black sea. We commenced operations in the Baltic sea with a slot-charter agreement between FESCO and CMA-CGM. Today, we are not limited with these frames: we are going to operate with slots from Singapore to Saint-Petersburg. Singapore will serve as a hub to accumulate cargo from Thailand, India and Indonesia. Service to the Baltic Sea from Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam is also under serious consideration. It goes without saying that the geography of services to Saint-Petersburg will expand. FESCO is implementing the same strategy in the Black sea. As a result of these prospects, cooperation inside the FESCO Group is extremely important."
During the following two days of the meeting, participants discussed the 2007 operational results of FESCO-China, FESCO-Vietnam and the new FESCO Baltic Orient Line and set new targets for 2008.