The Rhenus Group has set up its own country organisation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has opened its first business site in Dubai.
It operates there through Rhenus Logistics Gulf DWC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Rhenus Group, which has been operating since 1 May 2016.
Rhenus Logistics Gulf DWC specialises in handling air and sea freight and providing customs clearance for imports and exports. Other products include project business, warehousing and road transportation to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
Rhenus Logistics Gulf DWC managing director, Gerrit Kloezeman says: “By establishing a new national company with its own management structures, it’s possible to develop new transport routes and expand our spectrum of products.”
The business site is located in Dubai Logistics City, one of six clusters in the Dubai World Central (DWC) free trade zone.
Different modes of transport, production and logistics space are all linked to each other through the strategically favourable location between what will be the world’s largest airport, Al Maktoum International Airport, and the Jebel Ali Seaport.
Once the final stage of the expansion has been completed at the airport, the facility is aiming to handle 16 million tonnes of freight and 220 million passengers every year.
Kloezeman adds: “We’ll particularly focus on import business at our company. Our conditions for air and sea freight are very attractive, particularly to Dubai; and we’ll also enable other business units to obtain a foothold in the market here.”
The services are provided for the whole of the UAE and there are plans to develop more areas in the Middle East. “We’ve been able to expand our freight forwarding business to include Doha in Qatar earlier than planned because of the high level of demand,” Kloezeman says.