► OTS Logistics Group appoints new member to Executive Committee

► VLS New Zealand becomes an IATA registered cargo agent

► Photo Essay: VLS opens new office in Xiamen

► VLS Thailand appoints new General Manager

► OTS Logistics Group Chairman visits VLS in Chile

► A customer success story for Brennan

► Vanguard Logistics Services at the Intermodal Fair 2006 in Sao Paulo, Brazil

► Ocean freight consolidator Takes Flight

▪ Vickie Kordones  celebrates 25 years at NACA
▪ DCL New York opens project desk
▪ Cargo Transportation through Rain, Lightning, Flooding and even Hail
▪ NACA USA appoints a new Compliance Manager
▪ NACA implements Management Training program
▪ VLS Japan in Tokyo moves office location

OTS Logistics Group appoints new member to Executive Committee

TS Logistics Group announced the appointment of Zeljko Blazic, Managing Director of Vanguard Logistics for the South Pacific, to the Executive Committee for the group. The appointment does not change Blazic’s day to day functions for Vanguard in Australia/New Zealand but elevates his participation in the setting and implementation of group strategy to a global level.

Blazic entered the industry in 1990 as a “document runner”. He has held various operations and sales roles during his career, all within the industry; and commenced his involvement with what is today the OTS Logistics Group as a sales trainee with Direct Container Line (DCL) in 1995. DCL is now a brand operated by the OTS Logistics Group.

Blazic worked his way up to various regional management roles in Sales / Business Development and then transitioned to general management for the region by taking over as General Manager for New South Wales for Vanguard Logistics at a time when DCL became a brand serviced by Vanguard Logistics. He was appointed Managing Director for Vanguard Logistics South Pacific in 2004.

Blazic has overseen double digit growth in the region in both revenues and operating profits during his term as regional Managing Director. “Zeljko’s stellar performance in managing growth at such an astounding rate while maintaining a focus on keeping the nuts and bolts of the business operating make him a rare manager”, said Owen Glenn, group Chairman. “He manages to maintain a combined sales and operations focus and hire quality people under him to keep the customers happy. This is not an easy balancing act and I think Zeljko will contribute much to our global thinking as we continue our phenomenal growth worldwide. I am pleased to welcome him to the Executive Committee”.
 

Blazic in turn expressed delight at the appointment. “I am honored to have been given this privilege. This is definitely the highlight to my career thus far. I have now been associated with one or another of the group’s brands for close to 11 years. I have watched the development from a successful ocean based NVOCC focused on specialized trades into a global power house continually adding new origin and destination points and services. The appointment motivates me to set stretch goals for me and my region”.

Zeljko Blazic, VLS Branch Manager for Australia and New Zealand

Blazic will continue to be based in Sydney. The Executive Committee stays in frequent touch through structured and disciplined reporting mechanisms and meets three times a year at rotating locations for evaluation and resetting of strategy.

Vanguard Logistics New Zealand becomes an IATA registered cargo agent.

anguard Logistics Services, a subsidiary of the OTS Logistics Group, recently became an IATA registered cargo agent.

VLS NZ has experienced growth rates of 135% in net revenue and a 105% increase in volume over benchmarks set in the last 2 years. By becoming an IATA agent, VLS NZ can now cut its own Air Waybills.

Shane Pillanger head of the Air Freight department and Patrick Munoz General Manager for VLS NZ spent most of last December negotiating and acquiring rates directly with the airlines.

“We are looking to align ourselves with strategic air lines that can provide us with a service and are willing to work with us in a partnership. 2006 is a very important year for us in relation to the continued growth and profitability within our Airfreight division.” Munoz said

“We see opportunities to offer many of our sea freight clients a one stop shop with our extended services, Warehousing and Logistics, Sea Freight and now a complete Airfreight service.” Pillanger said.

Photo essay: VLS opens new office in Xiamen

anguard Logistics Services is proud to announce the opening of their new office in Xiamen.

The inauguration took place at the Marco Polo Hotel in Xiamen. Over 280 people attended the event.

Mr. Andy Lee welcoming the guests

Entrance to the office in Xiamen

The new office is situated in the Xiamen Bank Centre Building, with space of 538 m3 and a capacity of 50 people.
 

The new offices are spacious and well lit
 

Vanguard Logistics Thailand appoints new
General Manager

anguard Logistics Services (VLS) Thailand, announced the appointment of Anucha Kosalatip to the position of General Manager.

Under the new management, import volume is projected to exceed budget by 14.2%.

Import FCL is also set to exceed budget by 3.2%.  Export volume is forecasted to increase 27.3% over last year  with FCL Export forecast to show improvement of a whopping 274% over last year.

Revenue and operating profit is expected to improve as well.

A new export consol team has also been formed. This team assures the smooth continuation of the weekly service into Singapore and the USA. The team also plans to launch a service to Hong Kong and Shanghai and has started a foray into airfreight sales and exports.

  OTS Logistics Group Chairman visits Vanguard Logistics in Chile

TS Logistics Group Chairman, Mr. Owen Glenn visited Vanguard Logistics Services Chile last March.

Although it was a short visit, Mr. Owen Glenn had time for a meeting with all the staff in the Hyatt Hotel in Santiago. It is the second time that Mr. Glenn has visited Chile with this visit coming after a hiatus of almost 10 years.

Vanguard Logistics Services Chile Team, Hal Donahue and Owen Glenn

During Mr. Glenn's visit there was an evaluation of the results produced by VLS Chile. The 2005 performance of the office was remarkable in comparison with previous years and the current market environment in the region. Mr. Glenn made a toast during the evening function where he congratulated the staff for the great results obtained on 2005 and invited them to sustain their efforts to improve on that performance in 2006.

From left to right: Hal Donahue, Jorge Lobos, Barbara Martinez, Carolina San Martin, Owen Glenn, Daniela Gutierrez, Pamela Iturbe, Andres Ritter and Viviana Alvarez.

From left to Right; Crisly Santis, Ana Maria Perez, Solange Rivera, Mr. Glenn, Mabel Padilla, Jeannette Godoy and Viviana Sandoval
 

As the evening ended, Carlos Valenzuela, Accounting Assistant, who is an amateur singer of some repute, asked permission at the Hotel to use the stage and microphone and invited Mr. Glenn to sing with him the famous song "My Way". Mr Glenn is known to be partial to that song, adapting it for a personal rendition at the Las Vegas 25^th anniversary celebration.

Carlos Valenzuela and Owen Glenn singing "My Way"

 A customer success story for Brennan

he Brennan International office in Itasca recently received an e-mail from Eagle Global Logistics office in Torrance, California praising them for the excellent Haz Team work in the USA.

It all started with a particularly difficult move of hazardous cargo from the USA to Ho Chi Minh which was successfully handled by the Hazardous team and loaded to its destination.

The Haz team is the result of a unique process re-engineering project that was put together in the US last year. It involves bringing a special focus to the handling of hazardous freight in a dedicated team environment.

The team must have done something right because the next thing they knew, they received an unsolicited compliment from a valued customer. 

"I think that your haz team is the best thing since sliced bread. They're a true innovation in this industry and the person who created the group should be commended for their efforts", wrote Regina Ho of EGL and then added: "No other NVO is like it, and it's a pleasure to book my hazardous with Brennan and know that it's handled in a timely and professional manner!"

Vanguard Logistics Services present at the Intermodal Fair 2006 in
Sao Paulo, Brazil

anguard Logistics Services participated in the

The Intermodal Fair received more than 40.000 visitors in the 3 days that it was open. Some of the visitors to the fair, including representatives from AGC in Spain. Train Peru and Vanguard Argentina took the opportunity to drop in on the Vanguard Brazil display.

From left to right: Gabi Ortega (AGC), Erie Babatsias (Train), Hal Donahue (VLS), Ioannis Babatsias (Train) and Joan Grañena (AGC)

From left to right; Gabi Ortega, Joan Grañena, Hal Donahue and Paulo Tonello

Vanguard Logistics Service's stand was always crowded
 

Vanguard Logistic's staff had the pleasure to receive on the stand many of their actual customers such as; Dupont, Akzo, Curimbaba, Total Alimentos, Industrias Romi, Pilkinton, Bosh, 3M, and many others.
 

"Most of our competitors were also present, but our stand was, as every year, absolutely crowded every single night", said Caio Salles, the commercial manager at VLS Brazil.
 

The 4th version of the Intermodal Fair was marked by the presence of Brazilian authorities during the inauguration, including the Minister of Transport, Paulo Sergio Passo, and the Secretary of Transport of Sao Paulo, Dario Lopes.

 Ocean Freight Consolidator Takes Flight

anguard Logistics Services Australia is on track for a record breaking year in its airfreight division. "We have seen double digit growth in this division over the last 3 years" said Zeljko Blazic, Regional Managing Director. "What started as a small extension of our ocean freight business has grown into a sizable business of its own. I think we are justified in feeling that we are doing something right for our customers to get to this point".

The airfreight division has focused on detailed, personal service to its clients to distinguish itself in a very competitive business. "A lot of companies talk the talk about customer service. It’s almost clichéd", asserted Collin Rozario, Airfreight Manager for the company, who is credited within the company with having fast tracked the development of the airfreight division to its present size. "The difference with us is that we pay attention to the details".

This focus on things that matter to the customer is what the company believes has allowed it to win and service business that typically requires a high degree of care and attention including project cargo that in recent years has included helicopters and railway cars. "When you have time sensitive cargo that simply will not fit into neat categories", Rozario expanded, "you have to pay attention to what could go wrong and intervene early. Some of these shipments total almost 13 tons and have to be moved on 747 freighter aircraft. The loading process for this is extremely sensitive as it could affect the weight and balance of the aircraft. It’s not something that you just pick up the phone and have delivered to the airport".

Blazic believes that the company’s access to a wide ranging global network built for its ocean business over decades has been instrumental in providing access to quality agents. This in turn supports the company’s requirements for origin and destination partnering. "As part of the OTS Logistics Group, we have our own offices and agents support in places that most people have to pull out an atlas to look for", he commented. "What that has meant is that both our Australian and New Zealand airfreight offerings service destinations that others simply cannot. As a result we have volume support from Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide. This adds to the wide range of services including ocean, land and air freight and is now very visible why our customers treat us as a one stop shop."

The same global network has allowed the company to offer airfreight services from virtually any country in the world to all of the Pacific Island countries. "Our strength in Australia and New Zealand actually leverages very well into this trade lane", according to Rozario. "The geographical proximity means that we can provide highly localized service to those countries. In fact, airfreight is a vital part of infrastructure for the Pacific Islands given their size and relative geographical isolation".

 Vickie Kordones celebrates 25 years at NACA

ickie Kordones had her 25th anniversary with NACA on May 1st, 2006. Vickie has done everything from receptionist, to documentation, documentation manager, traffic and traffic manager. She is now working in Rancho Dominguez in import revenue management and has import supervision duties as well.  

"We celebrated with cake for the entire office. Owen Glenn also passed on his thanks for 25 years of hard work and loyalty." said Jim McGrath, operations manager for LA and San Francisco.

To show his appreciation, Mr. Glenn also offered her a trip for 2, up to $2500, to any vacation spot of her choosing. This was very well received by Vickie as well as the rest of the staff.

"I also shared a story of how during her 10 year anniversary, we had a rather rowdy party in the warehouse, after work of course, in which Owen Glenn and Bob Davies attended, Quite a good time and fond memories." said McGrath.

Congratulations Vickie!

 DCL New York opens Project Desk

CL Carteret, NJ is proud to announce the start of its new project cargo desk.  Modeling itself on the project cargo group in Los Angeles, the New York project cargo desk will bring new and unique freight services to the Eastern region.

Robert Sutton, Vice President of the Eastern Region noted that this group will specialize in out-of-gauge cargo, break-bulk, flat-rack, ro-ro, heavy cargo, and anything else that cannot and will not fit into a container that will allow us to assist customers on a whole new level. 

"There is a need for this expertise in the NY area, and we feel with our carrier contacts, our network, and our own warehouse abilities, we can offer advantages to the market", said Mr. Sutton.

Taking on the challenge of this new desk will be Mr. Dieter Plompen. A veteran in the industry with 11 years experience, Plompen has the knowledge and contacts to quickly and accurately dive into the challenges presented when dealing with this type of transport. 

His scope of employment ranges from 'Ecu Line Belgium' to 'ConFreight Paris', with experience in a wide variety of cargo operations.

"This new and exciting avenue we are now traveling will prove to be a great challenge and experience for the Eastern region", said Michael Napolitano, the customer service manager for the New York office.

   Cargo Transportation through Rain, Lightning, Flooding
and even Hail

anguard Miami received a light post in May destined to EMELTA S.A. in Chile; one of Vanguard Chile's valuable clients. This was no ordinary light post, the steel structure measured 103 feet long once assembled. It was cut in two pieces, with one piece being 53' long and the other 50' long. The break bulk service to Chile is seasonal and there was no sailing available for a couple of months.
 

The challenging part of the entire operation was the loading of the posts onto the flatbed truck. Miami was expected to experiencing a massive weather storm that afternoon. When the coordination to load the freight began outside the building it was  just starting to dribble.

However within minutes the down pour began and the area soon flooded. The cargo handling team experienced marble-size hail, with occasional lighting strikes (remember that this is a 53 foot structure of ungrounded STEEL). All equipment and staff had to be pulled back inside the building.

Great Job to the Miami Warehouse Team. Thanks for making it happen guys!

 NACA USA appoints a new Compliance Manager

This role deals with compliance with government rules, regulations & initiatives as well as company policy and procedures.

Ank's area of responsibility includes:

- Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)
- Automated Manifest System (AMS)
- Advanced Manifest System (AES)
- Advanced Commercial Information (ACI)
- US Customs & Border Patrol (CBP)
- US Bureau of Census / Foreign Trade Division
- US Departments of State and Commerce
- PierPass
- Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT)
- Department of Transportation (DOT)
- Bio Terrorism Act (FDA)
- Solid Wood Packaging (USDA)
- Hazardous / Bonded / Abandoned Cargo
- NACA Surety Bonds
- NACA Policy and Procedures

"I am excited about this new opportunity. In today's fast paced environment, it is difficult to stay on top of changes in government rules and regulations especially since September 11, 2001. In our capacity as an NVOCC, our liability and exposure have increased. In addition, enforcement has become much more stringent. The fact that NACA is willing to invest in compliance shows that NACA takes compliance and security seriously"

"One of the upcoming changes in the US Export Regulations is the implementation of Mandatory AES Filing. This new regulation will mandate electronic filing of EEI (Electronic Export Information) 24 hours prior to vessel departure, and will render the Shipper's Export Declaration (SED) obsolete. In addition, there will be increased penalties for non-compliance. Implementation of this new regulation is expected sometime in 2006", said De Roos.

"NACA has been a certified participant of C-TPAT, the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism since February 2003. Through this initiative, Customs is asking businesses to ensure the integrity of security practices and communicate security guidelines to business partners within the supply chain".

More information can be found at http://www.customs.treas.gov

 NACA implements Management Training Program

ACA Logistics is proud to announce that they have recently introduced a new Management Training Series in the U.S. 

In January of this year, the regional V.P.’s met for several days in Chicago with Mr. Jeff Lee (COO), and from those meetings established that this series would be a high priority in the future direction of the U.S. management team.  This series consists of 15 different modules to be rolled out over the course of this year and early next year, and is a requirement for all levels of the management team across the country to attend. 

This dynamic training created by Mary Ann Podzimek (Chicago) and Toni Krist, National training Manager, encapsulates broad concepts of effective management to strengthen the entire management team which will in turn have a dramatic, positive impact on all staff members countrywide.
 

Toni at 'The first time supervisor' class.

Some of the individual modules will be presented as “live” classes with the facilitator traveling to each office, while many of the modules will be offered as live “webex” style classes.
 

"A module will be presented to participants about every 8 weeks giving them an opportunity to absorb what they have learned and ultimately to put into motion. The really exciting concept behind these modules is that we have deliberately chosen to “mix” veteran and junior management staff members.  This provides a venue that allows a sharing of ideas, experiences, and knowledge that will prove to be a valuable component to the whole series" said Toni Krist about the process so far.   


This format gives way for veterans to give pointers on their own mistakes or weak areas when they first started in management, and gives ample opportunity to the juniors to ask questions and learn.   The 15 modules will cover a variety of topics from “The First Time Supervisor”, “The One Minute Manager”, “Job Descriptions”, “Communication and Constructive Feedback”, “Goal Setting”, “Team Building/Motivating Employees”, “Situational Leadership”,  and “Time Management” to core basic modules such as “Interviewing Skills”, ‘Federal & State Laws”, “Sexual Harassment” and even “OSHA Guidelines” to name a few.

"Most of the classes will be hosted by myself, but some participants are in for a treat as two of the modules will be facilitated by members of our executive team" explained Toni Krist, and added: "Thus far, we have completed Module 1, 'The First Time Supervisor' around the country, and have already begun scheduling Module 2 & 3 to commence June 6^th"


Feedback elicited from participants has been very positive as all managers are extremely excited that NACA is taking this direction not only their benefit, but for all staff members as well.


"As managers, our goal is to assist all staff members reach their goals and with that thought at the forefront of our daily endeavors, we are destined to reach the sky!", said Toni.

Vanguard Logistics Japan in Tokyo moves office location

anguard Logistics Services (VLS) office in Tokyo was relocated to a more suitable and spacious area to accommodate the growth of the coverage of Vanguard in Japan.

From left to right; (Front line) Chikako Miyata, Hiroko Tanaka, Hiromi Henmi, (Middle line) Miwako Kawai, Mayumi Oi, Yoko Maeno, (last line) Junji Kawagishi and Chikako Okada.

Everyone in the team was very happy to move from their old office to a more strategic location. Now they have rooms to accommodate the Managers as well as the Supervisors of the company.

The new office is situated in the midst of the business district in Tokyo. It is very convenient for their customer base to locate since the building is along one of the main roads of Tokyo.
 

The contact details are as follows:
 

Vanguard Logistics Services (Japan) Limited
ASK Building 3/F 3-12-2
Nihonbashi-Kayabacho, Chuo-ku,
Tokyo 103-0025 Japan
Telephone: 81-3-5642-6501
Facsimile: 81-3-5642-6509

Contacts:

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857 East 230th Street
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