Cargo Connections: Successful Antwerp Inaugural Meeting

The inaugural Cargo Connections Annual Assembly received over 40 delegates from almost 30 countries, who made their way to Antwerp on 19/20 February 2016.

The event included a Casino Evening where personalised Cargo Connections dollar bills were exchanged for chips at the Roulette, Black Jack and Texas Hold’em Poker tables. The assembly also included a full day of pre-arranged 1-2-1 meetings. During these important sessions, delegates were able to introduce their company and highlight their specialist areas, discuss cross trade and potential collaborations as well as providing information regarding their country’s regulations and requirements. These crucial meetings also provided an opportunity to share key import and export trade information.

President/C.E.O., Rachel Humphrey said “Feedback from the meeting was entirely positive and although our network is young; we are incredibly optimistic and confident. The fact that guests travelled from all over the world to our 24 hour event (8,800 miles by Tidal Logistics in Australia!) displays the commitment and pro-active nature of Cargo Connections members. From my experience of establishing Universal Freight Organisation and Project Cargo Network, I recognise that to have such positive participation from members at the beginning promises a high quality and serious group of professionals.

“The calibre of the companies we have on-board has been helped by the selective approach we have adopted from the beginning. We could grow a large membership very quickly if we allow every interested party to join, but we do not. We have long term goals of a world class freight network and we feel very confident after this inaugural meeting that we are well on the road to achieving that. We are now looking forward to seeing business grow for our members over the next 12 months and for a large attendance at our next meeting, which will take place in Danang in Vietnam in March 2017.”

Cargo Connections is an ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified general cargo network formed in the summer of 2014 and offers Restricted Representation, which means membership will only be offered to a limited number of freight forwarders who offer air, sea and road freight services per country. With a cutting-edge website, Cargo Connections offers innovative membership benefits including a useful Smartphone Service.