M+R strengthens Asian network with new office in Johor Bahru, Malaysia
M+R FORWARDING Asia has decided to cover Malaysia through the establishment of its own subsidiary after having been represented in the country by Network Partners for more than 20 years.

The new company will initially operate with an office in Johor Bahru, with further expansion in the planning.

M+R Forwarding Malaysia Sdn Bhd is located at: No. 16H, Jalan Bukit Meldrum, 80300 Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia. Tel +60 7 226 0628, Fax +60 7 227 0628.

The new office works in close co-operation with M+R Singapore, which has a lead function in all M+R operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Malaysia, a member state of ASEAN and APEC, has always played a vital role in the area and has become an important manufacturer and exporter of high tech products, especially in the field of Information Technology.

M+R Malaysia provides a full range of sea- and air freight services as well as project cargo services for the oil and gas second as well as other industries via all major harbours and airports in Malaysia.

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M+R Singapore appoints Gareth Evans as new executive director
FOLLOWING the visit of the M+R Spedag Group's owner and manager Daniel Richner to Thailand, the company has promoted Gareth Evans as executive director, with effect from January 1 this year.

"Gareth has joined M+R Singapore in 2004 and has done a tremendous job in making M+R Singapore a very successful entity," a company statement said.

In his new capacity as executive director, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, Mr Evans will be responsible for management and development of these three countries, as well as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

"Gareth with his vast experience in general forwarding, projects, in particular in the oil and gas sector, as well as his entrepreneurial drive makes him the ideal person to bring these countries to the next level within the M+R Spedag Group. As in the past 26 years, we always focus to continuously enlarge our network to serve customers and agent partners on the expected highest quality level," said the company statement.

Founded in 1952 as a freight forwarding company, the M+R Spedag Group is still a family-owned transport and logistics company based in Basel, Switzerland. Original owners Roger Metzger and Hansruedi Richner, passed on management to son Daniel Richner, who took over all shares of the company as well as the presidency of the group in 2006.

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Ben Vree succeeds Martin Poulsen as chairman APM Terminals, Europe
APM Terminals, a member of the AP Moller-Maersk Group, has named Ben Vree as its new executive chairman of European operations. He succeeds Martin Poulsen, who takes over the new post of global "safety activist," responsible for improving safety standards worldwide.

Mr Vree had been appointed chief executive of APM Terminals Rotterdam earlier this year, to oversee the company's facilities and maintain its competitive position in Europe's biggest container port.

The terminal operator's European operations account for 36 per cent of the company's global container volume and 25 per cent of its revenues.

Before joining APM Terminals, Mr Vree was the CEO of North Sea Group, a Netherlands-based trader and distributor of oil products and biofuels, from 2011 to 2012.

"I am excited about this new opportunity to contribute in this challenging market toward the further development and growth of the APM Terminals global port, terminal and inland services network in the Europe region," Mr Vree said.

"Our goal is to not only grow and optimise the existing network, but further improve standards on safety and environmental care and expand our customer base."


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Nils Smedegaard Andersen back as CEO at AP Moller Maersk after heart surgery
AP MOLLER MAERSK chief executive Nils Smedegaard Andersen, 53, was clearly back at work with the announcement of Danish shipping giant's quarterly results after he spent more than four months on medical leave following heart surgery.

Mr Andersen was hospitalised during a skiing holiday in Switzerland in December, reported Dow Jones. After surgery to replace a cardiac valve in Switzerland for two weeks, he returned to Denmark in mid-January.

He was initially expected to resume work at the beginning of February, but suffered a setback and further surgery in late March, said the report.

"Having participated in a number of meetings and having been updated on our activities during the last couple of weeks, I am now ready to return to work," Mr Andersen said.

During his absence, the company has been led by members of the executive board, reporting to supervisory board chairman Michael Pram Rasmussen.

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Northport's new CEO seeks customer retention to keep plans on track
MALAYSIA's Northport has appointed a new chief executive officer, Abi Sofian Abdul Hamid, 50, who says his first task will be to improve customer retention and ensure container capacity development schemes stay on track as well as making sure new quay cranes and rubber tyred gantries (RTG) arrive and are put to work.

"The main priority now is to ensure no disruption to business operations. Necessary enhancements and improvements which can add value will be implemented as the need arises," he told the Malaysia Star.

Mr Hamid replaced Hassan Abdul Kader, 59, who retired after 19 years at Northport, after his contract expired on March 31.

"I would like to thank Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid, the chairman of NCB Holdings or the opportunity to take Northport to the next level of excellence," he said.

"I will also ensure Northport is the port of choice in nation building. Human capital development to complement capital infrastructure development will be the way forward to enhance the values and spirits of our team at Northport," said the new chief executive.

Northport and Kontena Nasional are wholly owned by NCB Holdings, which in turn is 55.9 per cent owned by Permodalan Nasional and 15.7 per cent by the regional container line MISC.

Northport hopes to lift 3.2 million TEU this year and is expected to increase its capacity to 5.5 million TEU from the current five million a year once it completes the development of wharf 8A that would eventually be operated as CT4.

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