The Luik Natie group has four divisions: Storage, Coldstore, Transport and Forwarding. This way they fill in the entire logistics chain for their customers. The fruit and vegetable share in Coldstore division is around 50% at the moment. "Our coldstore has three cooling cells which each have a storage capacity of 1500 pallets. This means we can store fruit and vegetables at different temperatures. We have our own fleet of 25 trucks in the transport division, all recently renewed. Besides our own trucks, we also have an extended network of subcontractors and transporters to serve our customers."
Steady growth
Werner indicates that they started with fruit five years ago and the Luik Natie has been growing steadily in it ever since. "We want to define ourselves on the fruit and vegetable market through specialisation and diversification. We started with citrus, and bananas, then apples, onions, potatoes and other fruits and vegetables have gradually been added. We do not receive reeferships, we focus solely on containers. Containers are supplied to our warehouse from the container terminal, where they are unloaded and the goods are loaded onto reefertrucks. The D2D deliveries are also part of our daily activities."
Short communication lines
According to Werner, every day is a new challenge. "Fruit and vegetables are a market full of fluctuations. There are all kinds of things that can influence these perishable products. Our goal is to unload, declare, check and supply the containers to the customers as quickly as possible. The art of this service is to diversify ourselves by offering extra service in various areas. And this never stops: there are always new possibilities to expand and we play into them adequately. We supply various other services outside of the 'standard' logistics, tailored to customers wishes. We provide customs formalities such as declarations and fiscal responsibility, ACS procedures for bananas and phytosanity checks. These services are taken care of by our expedition department. One of the advantages of this is that we have our own certification center (GIP) as a company. It is located at our site, and only FAVV checks are carried out here." According to Werner they define themselves by being a small but flexible firm. "Our communication lines are very short, both internally and with shipping agents, exporters, government institutions and transporters, so that we can reply to our customers quickly and are able to work on solutions flexibly. We also know that every customer has their own specifications, so we offer a tailored package. Our slogan isn't 'Your compass to Fresh Logistics' for no reason."
Green energy
Sustainable business is no empty slogan at Luik Natie. "Due to the arrival of a windmill in the middle of this year we will be able to get 100% of our electricity from renewable energy. We will also be saving hugely on electricity by using energy efficient lighting. Luik Natie has expansion plans for the future and these possibilities are at the existing location." Werner says that the port of Antwerp is working more and more on a competitive position. "It's difficult competition with other ports. Antwerp remains an important player and certainly shouldn't be underestimated. The companies in the port have a place in their heart for the 'Port of Antwerp'. This is shown in the 'Fruit & Perishables Expertise Centre, among other things: a forum for agents, importers and service suppliers to unite to serve the Antwerp fruit and vegetable interests together."
For more information:
Werner Van Beek
Luik Natie Coldstore nv
Kruipin Harbour 1145
9130 Kallo – Belgium
T: 0032 3 570 00 22
werner.vanbeek@luiknatie.be
www.luiknatie.be