Ecuador: New office in Guayaquil
a. hartrodt wants to develop its import and export business at the country's most important port.
Since the beginning of March, a. hartrodt has an operational office with three employees in Guayaquil, the most important port in Ecuador. "We want to develop in maritime and air transport exports, as the majority of the country's exporters are based in Guayaquil," explains Shirley Secaira, Managing Director at a. hartrodt Ecuador in Quito. The South American country mainly exports bananas and other fruit, fish and seafood as well as mining products. "We have important clients from different industries with whom we want to grow," explains Shirley Secaira. As a hub for imports and exports, Guayaquil is operated by all major shipping companies.
Mayra Martínez León heads the new office
The new office is managed by Mayra Martínez León, who has 17 years of experience in the areas of import/export operations, logistics and customs clearance. The international trade expert has a degree in Organizational Psychology from the University of Guayaquil and speaks both Spanish and English fluently. "With strategic thinking and hands-on approach, Mayra enriches our international business relationships," emphasizes Shirley Secaira.
Growth strategy focuses on imports
According to the Managing Director, the main objective of the new location is "to grow with export and import customers from the Guayaquil region and to offer complete logistics services including customs agency and domestic transportation". The growth strategy of the national subsidiary founded in 2018 focuses on imports from Germany, Italy, Spain and the two most important trading partners, the USA and China. Ecuador recently signed a free trade agreement with China in 2023. The a. hartrodt team in Guayaquil is seeing increased interest in project shipments from China and Italy. According to Shirley Secaira, imports from Colombia have also been on the rise, followed by Peru and Mexico.
In Ecuador, a. hartrodt employs a total of twelve people in Quito and Guayaquil. According to Shirley Secaira, so far the export business has been the main driver of a. hartrodt's regional network in Latin America.