FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Ecu Worldwide moves to take over packing firms

Ecu Worldwide moves to take over packing firms

ECU WORLDWIDE (Thailand), a joint venture with Belgium-based non-vessel operating common carrier, has set itself the goal delivering inorganic growth by taking over local packers in a bid to rapidly expand the volume of its shipments.

The move is part of its five-year business plan from 2016-2020 to help drive the group to achieve US$2 billion (B70.6 billion) in annual sales within five years under a new worldwide logo and brand name.
“We are now in talks with a few local packers in Chiang Mai to acquire them and make them our partners backed by a well-managed administrative system,” managing director Viraj Nobnomtham said.
He added that each packer would funnel many more clients to using its shipment services. This would be the company’s business model for Asean, if successful.
Belgium-based Ecu Wordwide recently achieved its target of becoming a billion-dollar global company after 27 years in operation.
Under its business plan, the company rebranded itself, announcing the move last month. The name of the company and the name of all of its branch offices, including its agents and franchisees, was changed from Ecu-Line to Ecu Worldwide.
Under the new brand, Ecu Worldwide – one of the fast-growing forwarders in the sea-freight industry with great success in LCL (less-than-container-load) consolidation services – wants to be perceived as a provider with a wider rage of services on both land and sea.
Its other services include full-container load and multi-modal transport.
Ecu Worldwide has more than of 300 branch offices in more than 100 countries.
Viraj said that the company’s back-office system would be changed in the third quarter to use a mobile application and a modernised IT program.
He said Thailand was a key player in supporting the group growth, with it contributing at least 10 per cent annually to overall shipment volume.
He said the Thai office recorded 5-per-cent growth in shipment volume for the first quarter.
 “We were told to apply inorganic growth. So, we plan to take over some packers … to drive our growth,” Viraj said.
He said the company was looking for a win-win business model that benefited to both sides.
The main clients of packers that the company was eyeing were merchandisers of antiques, furniture and wood products, he said.
Last year, Ecu Worldwide (Thailand) recorded 180,000 cubic metres of shipments, the third highest in Asia behind Singapore and Hong Kong. The group’s total was two million cubic metres.

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