On the occasion of the 15-year anniversary of a. hartrodt Bolivia, the national company will invite to its headquarters in Santa Cruz. The 20 employees in the capital La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz want to toast with VIP customers. "There are even two important things to celebrate," informs Ivonne Rada, Managing Director of a. hartrodt Bolivia: "We are moving to a bigger office in Santa Cruz because we are planning to grow further in 2025." The country's largest city with almost 2 million inhabitants is an important economic center for the processing of agricultural products such as coffee or sugar cane as well as for the oil and gas industry.
Impetus from EU-Mercosur free trade agreement
Since July 2024, Bolivia has been a full member of Mercosur, the South American Common Market, with which the EU finalized a free trade agreement in early December 2024 after long negotiations. Ivonne Rada expects this to stimulate growth, particularly in the import business. She assumes "that demand for capital goods will increase by 3 to 5 percent and for machinery and finished products by up to 15 percent".
Air freight consolidations and truck transportation
According to Ivonne Rada, a. hartrodt has "established itself as a reference in the Bolivian market". Air freight consolidations with a "focus on improving efficiency and reducing costs" are developing particularly positively. Most imports come from the USA, Germany and Brazil. The landlocked country also has great demand for truck transportation from neighbouring countries: "Brazil is the main supplier in land transport, followed by Chile, Argentina and Peru." The main goods include vehicles, chemical and steel products as well as food. The freight forwarder is constantly investing in its AEO management system in order to improve customer satisfaction even further.
Ivonne Rada cites diversity as an important success factor for a. hartrodt Bolivia: "In particular, we actively support the professional development of women by providing leadership opportunities and ongoing training." Seven of the nine employees in Santa Cruz are female.