Portugal between pride and concern
With head office in Porto and two warehouse locations, a. hartrodt is very successful.
With the motto "Time to deliver", Portugal took over the EU Council Presidency from Germany on January 1, 2021. The guiding principle could have come from Carlos Ferreira, Managing Director at a. hartrodt Portugal in Moreira da Maia near Porto. He has managed a. hartrodt's Portuguese company since its founding in 2014 and closes every year positively: "In 2020, we doubled our profit compared to the previous year". But the business environment has deteriorated dramatically. The country of 10 million people is affected worst in Europe by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Discipline and flexibility for the customers
Due to Corona, the unemployment rate in Portugal has reached over 20 percent and almost all intensive care beds are occupied. "We are afraid of losing control," says Ferreira. However, customers of a. hartrodt get reliable "full support", emphasizes the "man influenced by the African continent with professional experience from Germany". He grew up in Mozambique and started his career in Bremen. For the freight forwarding business in Portugal, he considers discipline to be just as important as flexibility.
Bonded warehouses in Lisbon and Porto
In sea freight, China and Turkey are among the most important trade lanes for a. hartrodt Portugal. The freight forwarder is leading in the export of Portuguese beer to China. According to Ferreira, in the record year 2017, more than 10,000 containers were shipped from the ports in Leixões, Lisbon or Sines to Xiamen. In addition, there are wine exports. Turkey and China play a major role in the import of white goods. Locally, a. hartrodt Portugal provides all supply chain management such as pick and pack solutions and daily deliveries for a large automotive supplier. At Lisbon and Porto, a. hartrodt operates two bonded warehouses for air freight, sea freight and other customer requirements with a combined area of more than 24,000 square meters.
Ferreira sees his eight "highly motivated" employees as his greatest asset. The team is not only "extremely proud" of the EU Council Presidency. They are also particularly honored that Regional Director Maurizio Fasce presents a. hartrodt Portugal as a successful freight forwarder 2.0 in his recently published bachelor thesis.