WELCOME MESSAGE

Greetings to all, and Kung Hei Fat Choi – Happy New Year for the Year of the Snake! 

In general, January was a good month for the EMO Trans organization. I began the year by traveling through Europe and Australia. During that time, I observed that Europeans’ overall economic expectations for 2013 are quite optimistic despite ongoing concerns about the Euro and countries like Greece and Spain. We will continue to focus on Europe - still our single strongest market. The new European/US Trade Agreement expected to be implemented shortly will create additional business in this region.

EMO Trans Strasbourg has obtained its IATA license effective March 1. EM Lines, our new NVO company in Hong Kong, has been accepted by the FMC. The application was locked in on February 15. Our offices in Australia are thriving. In addition to our AOG services for airlines, we are developing a new product to supply spare parts for mining equipment to remote areas in that country. Australia was plagued with floods and fires in January but with little impact on our business. In Brisbane, we will move to new larger offices, and in Melbourne we will occupy additional space in our existing office building. On the request of one of our customers, we will open our next office in that region in Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea.  Beginning with the March newsletter, you’ll hear more from our international network of EMO Trans companies from Australia to Asia, and Europe to South and North America, about what is happening around the globe. Our Route Development team will also write about their responsibilities and experience.

Domestically, there’s good news to report too. EMO Trans Chicago handled a 747 charter with food products to Melbourne, Australia. This is an ongoing program with midsize shipments to follow for a customer acquired by branch manager Michael Horn some time ago. We also have plans to open an office in Lansing, Michigan, an area with strong overseas business and a local need for international transportation expertise. This new office falls under the leadership of EMO Trans Detroit’s Rob Harrington.
 
February greeted the Northeastern U.S. with a big snowstorm that crippled all traffic for most areas. Thankfully it occurred over a weekend, so the disruption for our business was limited. We are now busy with preparations for our 12th annual Global Network Meeting in March. This time we decided to go to Lisbon, Portugal, a historic, fun filled city. We are very much looking forward to this event, which again brings all of our network partners together to review the past year and plan for more success in 2013.
 
All the best and kind regards,

Jo Frigger
Chairman & CEO
EMO Trans Inc.

FEATURED BRANCH: DENVER
 

EMO Trans Denver left to right: Janice Fahrenholtz, Customs Broker; Marijke Hildreth, Air and Ocean Exports; Don Derbin,  Air and Ocean Exports; Lynn Derbin,  Branch Manager; and Paul Walborn, Sales Manager.

Talk about heavy lifting! No matter how big the project, EMO Trans Denver is capable of handling it. This five-person, full service office specializes in moving heavy machinery such as equipment used in the construction and oil and gas industries. “We frequently truck oversized cargo to and from the Ports of Los Angeles and Houston,” explains branch manager Lynn Derbin. “We’re involved with every aspect of loading, blocking, bracing, and transporting very heavy items.” Such pieces might be new machinery for oil and gas rigs, equipment used to produce telephone lines, and even oversized equipment for a facility that stores military mustard gas. “We moved equipment to a chemical depot that will be used to build a new plant where the gas will be decomposed into a less lethal powder form and moved from the state of Colorado,” Lynn explains.

EMO Trans Denver shipped 180 containers of electrical restoration kits to Algeria on behalf of client Lindsey Manufacturing.

In addition to handling these jumbo projects, EMO Trans Denver also delivers white glove treatment when needed. “One of our regular customers is Ten Strawberry Street, a company that imports dinnerware from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. So we do a good job of handling delicate and fragile objects as well.” Lynn says.

Lynn attributes EMO Trans Denver’s success to its personalized service. “We know our clients and their needs,” she says. “They understand that we have the knowledge and abilities to do what we say we will do.” Another major factor is the sheer depth of experience within the office. Lynn herself has more than 35 years of experience in the industry, and other employees have similar backgrounds. “Our customs broker has 42 years of experience, and our sales manager has 35,” she says.

Congratulations to EMO Trans Denver on a job well done!

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES

EMO Net redesign

EMO Trans employees can expect changes in the way the EMO Net system looks and works! Agent information will now pull directly from IES. This means that key information only needs to be entered once, thereby allowing for more timely and accurate information.

Coming soon: Track & Trace app for iPhone and iPad!

To keep EMO Trans competitive with what's happening in the industry, IT is in the process of testing a new app that will allow customers and agents to track shipments from the convenience of their iPhones and iPads. Building upon EMO Trans’ current web-based Track & Trace technology, the new app will be available through iTunes in the coming weeks.

New reporting tools on the horizon

We are in the early stages of implementing software that will provide new ways of gathering data and presenting report-based information. This graphically rich software will allow customers and staff alike to see key data in the context of various parameters (e.g., origin and destination) and perform modeling in graphical and Excel formats to aid in future decision making. IT expects the software to be available sometime later in the year after testing is complete.