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Global transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss officially opened its office in the Philippines, further expanding its presence in Asia
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Gebrüder Weiss Regional Manager for East Asia, and Oceania Michael Zankel said the Philippines was the “puzzle piece… missing in our picture”
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The company is eyeing to service the electronics, automotives and consumer goods industries
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The Philippine office will be providing freight forwarding and other supply chain and value-added services
Global transport and logistics company Gebrüder Weiss officially opened its office in the Philippines recently, further expanding its presence in Asia.
Located in Parqal, Parañaque City, the new office is a “stepping stone” for the Austria-based company to expand its services in the Philippines, Gebrüder Weiss Regional Manager for East Asia, and Oceania Michael Zankel told PortCalls in an interview at the sidelines of the office housewarming on August 20.
“We found out that because we’re doing tenders for a lot of larger customers… there is one or two lanes that include the Philippines… and we found out that it is a puzzle piece that was missing in our picture,” Zankel said.
The company announced the establishment of the Philippine office in early August.
Zankel said having a presence in the Philippines “will help all our other Asian locations a lot,” such as Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
“There are a lot of business between these countries, and that’s why we think the Philippines that is actually doing very well at the moment economically will help us build up the inter Asia network,” he added.
The Philippine office will provide Gebrüder Weiss’ traditional services of air and sea freight forwarding, and will also offer other supply chain and value-added services such as customs clearance, door-to-door service, logistics, consolidations, and commissioning of goods for people, among others.
Zankel said they are eyeing to service the electronics industry—which the company is “quite strong in”—as well as automotives and consumer goods.
He said they already have several customers and potential clients, and is eyeing both foreign and local companies.
“But again, I would like to find more Filipino customers actually and help them develop,” Zankel added.
In the future, the company may also invest in facilities and possibly bringing in global services from Europe to the Philippines.
“That’s something we’re thinking about… We always hear about Filipinos attracted to go somewhere, and we would like to attract them to come back or stay here. And give them a future here,” he said.
For the short term, the Gebrüder Weiss executive said they aim to “do things right and well on a small scale.”
“We don’t want to be too fast and too over ambitious and run into every corner and fail. So we want to do the few things that we’re doing very well so that we have a good reputation. And then we grow from there…We also try to bring our family values over here. I think that’s important,” Zankel said.
With its entry into the Philippine market, Gebrüder Weiss is now active in 10 countries in East and Southeast Asia and Oceania, namely Australia, Greater China, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam. The regional network now comprises 36 locations, with approximately 800 employees, including those in the Philippines. – Roumina Pablo
