Steel-e-Motion

Steel-Solutions B.V.

A few years ago, bike couriers in big cities like New York and London started to deliver their packages on so-called fixies, fixed-gear bikes. A new sub-culture developed and grew to be one of the biggest urban trends of bike trends of this moment. The purity and simplicity of this bike have seduced Steel-Solutions to make this fixie into an art piece.

By now, fixies have taken the shape of a new hip trend. Riding a fixie bike has become more popular worldwide. But it is not this trend that made Steel-Solutions enthusiastic. It was the efficient character of the bike; pure, no bells and whistles.  The authenticity which represents the bike. Steel-Solutions is not just a trend, not just a story that you forget. As this bike, Steel-Solutions represents the same characteristics. It is a foundation, it is honest and pure.

But how does this reflect in our business? How does this create an advantage for our clients? On the pictures you can see the words “Steel-e-Motion”. The steel market is constantly moving. Products go from one place to another and that is done with different means of transportation. Steel is always moving and as a logistics service provider, Steel-Solutions takes care of all these logistics trajectories. The market is moving, supply and demand are constantly changing, and Steel-Solutions is changing with them. We are constantly looking for the best

“Steel-e-Motion” also gives away how we take care of these trajectories. It is not just business, it is about doing something for someone else. It is about emotion and passion for steel. And not just for our own company. It is about putting passion in everything you do to make sure that you partners and clients get the best of your services and products every single time. 

How did we linked this vision and the fixie? We bought our own fixie and had it customized by Jeroen vanden Boer to fit Steel-Solutions’ company image.

 “For Steel-Solutions I started with a steel (!) framed fixie of the Italian brand Olmo. This particular fixie originates back to the 80’s. I completely stripped it, sandblasted the fork and the framework and coated it with fresh blue paint. I reused as much of the retro and original components and combined those with a new bike chain, rims and tires. To top it off, I added the beautiful orange and blue colours and the logo of Steel-Solutions that make it their bike”.

One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity.

Steel-Solutions B.V.

The reason for writing this blog was an article from “Nieuwsblad Transport” of last November 12^th. Title of the article; ”City throws away logistic future”. Antwerp, one of the biggest transhipment harbours of Europe, has turned into a big industrial area with an even bigger problem. The traffic jam problem is enormous and according to logistics companies trucks are stuck in traffic at least 1.5 hours a day, every day. The breaking point has been reached. Where companies first choose Antwerp to settle because of the logistics advantages, they now have started to leave the city. Companies are leaving the industrial heart of Antwerp. The long travel times which are caused by the traffic jams are anything but profitable. Companies have decided to take matters into their own hands because they are barely able to keep their heads above water. There have been news report that Corneel Geert Transport Group is looking for possibilities in Genk. Wim Bosman already made this step before him.

Companies see Antwerp more as a bottleneck, rather than as an opportunity. The current beltway has been there for the past 45 years. At first this beltway was a one of a kind but now it is completely out dated and inadequate to cope with current traffic flows. New plans of improving the accessibility of both the city itself and the harbour, stand on hold till this very day.

Steel-Solutions read this article with great attention and remembered it. Why? Because Steel-Solutions responded to this problem in an early stage and moved its distribution centre from harbours to more ideal locations such as Maastricht and Born. Through our own inland waterways and railway-tracks, we can transport containers as well as break-bulk to our own distribution warehouses. From these warehouses are we able supply the entire European inland.

 

This makes it that we experience no logistical barriers. There are no long waiting times and there are hardly any traffic-jams. Both of our locations have tri-modal transport possibilities (rail, road and barge). The accessibility and availability of these tri-modal services make Steel-Solutions an excellent logistic partner.

The Man of Steel doesn’t stop developing.

    Steel Solutions BV

Steel Solutions separates Meuse Terminals and continues to develop itself as a chain director.   The Man of Steel doesn’t stop developing.   Steel Solutions knows where the business is done in the land of steel. This chain director currently has the international steel industry as its playfield, an annual 1,5 billion ton industry. The company makes good use of challenges and chances  which are offered by the changing steel industry. But it must be said that these chances lie elsewhere in Europe, rather than just the Netherlands and rather than just Maastricht, which is still the largest concentration of steel companies of the country.       Because of the growth in our role as chain director which conducts business in the world wide steel industry, a whole new global work terrain has developed, sketches Director Wibo Feijen. Steel- Solutions has gone through some turbulent developments in the past years. “Our new business concept depends less on the capacity of our terminals in Maastricht because we are now collaborating with terminals in the rest of Europe and beyond. This means that we have to create a new future for our own terminals. It would be a shame to reserve this available storage and transhipment capacity solely for the steel industry, especially now that the import of steel to Europe is left behind. That why we decided use our terminals for other purposes rather than our own company. A new company, Maasterminal Maastricht BV will make these terminals accessible for third parties who are looking for smart multimodal solutions in the region. Steel Solutions continues to develop itself in the niche market for steel, where clients  like to do business with us, “The Men of Steel”.   Maasterminal Maastricht. In Maasterminal Maastricht BV, both of the Steel Solutions’ terminals at the Ankerkade are incorporated. These terminals account for 20.000 m2 of storage capacity, transhipment and VAL activities. They are located near the Juliana canal with covered docks and railway connection. Maasterminal Maastricht BV will be offerings its terminals across sectors. “We are continuing to specialize in logistics”, says current Director Operations Gijs van Lier, who will running this company. “The opportunities to bundle the logistics of different kind of products, we hope that we will be working with different companies, add value in the entire logistics chain and give the terminals a new future as logistical link between diverse modalities.

Quick scan.   The market’s problem. >> It will take years before the demand of steel products on the European markets will rise again. The European Steel industry thus faces huge overcapacities. Apart from that are clients constantly increasing their demands regarding costs, efficiency and stock. Smart direction requires to value added services in the logistics chain.   Our vision. >> Optimisation of the supply chain is the factor of success to be able to grow in the steel business. We have to develop innovative products and services in order to develop in new markets.   Our solutions. >> Steel solutions will continue to develop in the worldwide (super smart) chain direction of steel. The tested recipe of the bundling of steel suppliers has proven to be successful. This recipe will be extended with other products and goods, rather than just steel product, under the new Maasterminal Maastricht BV.

Logistics Day Limburg 2013, Steel-Solutions represented.

Steel-solutions B.V.

The 10^th of October 2013 was the day of “Logistics Day Limburg”. This years’ theme was the Logistics Labour Market. This makes it no coincidence that the province launches it “Human Capital Agenda Logistics Limburg”. An interesting event which was visited by Steel-Solutions Operational Director Gijs van Lier. The location this year was theatre “De Maaspoort” in Venlo.

There was a busy schedule for this interesting day. There was a large collaboration with schools from the entire region that provide logistics studies. Fonthys Hogeschool, Zuyd Hogeschool, Open University and the Maastricht University all participated.

The day started off with several presentations, concerning a wide range of topics. “The international chain of fresh products”, “Sustainable operational excellence, communities of practice”, “Fleet management and telematics services” and “Fresh and green retailing, consumer behaviour in the supply chain”.

After a lunch, the program continued with a short clip, made by Logistics students. Something that stood out in this clip was the small amount of female students in the Logistics branch, one to be exact. The only girl that was displayed on the big screen, made Steel-Solutions proud. It was none other than Steel-Solutions’ own Logistics intern Tanita Kawade. She has been an intern at Steel-Solutions B.V.  since February 2012 and is motivated to learn everything there is to know about logistics and warehousing. Her ambition is to grow into a warehouse manager and she is well on her way at Steel-Solutions.

Than it was time for the launch of “Human Capital Agenda Logistics Limburg” including a panel discussion. After that, representatives of several HCA projects shared their knowledge. Some of the on-going projects concerned;

-          Customs and trace compliance in the inland.

-          Orientation program for school dropouts; a program which enables better throughput of human capital between jobs and study programs.

-          Exploiting and maintaining human capital

-          Strengthening (eu)regional knowledge.

Iinteresting project that focus on logistics of goods and knowledge and the development of human capital, without which a logistics company could not exist. And the market situation indicates that this human capital is not being used to its full potential. A lot of truck drivers are sitting at home, waiting for the economy to rise again. When that happens, there will be too little people to work in the logistics sector. “Logistics is not sexy enough” is the message. The image of logistics should change so that people are motivated to work in the branch. The first changes have already been made in the base of the (future) work, the education. Schools realise how important it is that enough people get motivated to satisfy the future needs of Logistics. Steel-Solutions has acknowledged this for years. For many years we have been working with study-projects  for youngsters and do we offer an interesting and challenging place for graduates. It is good to see that Steel-Solutions is contributing already to making Logistics more interesting for future graduates and has learned a lot from this day. All in all it was an interesting day to attend for Steel-Solutions. 

A growing company, a bright future for you?

Steel-solutions B.V.

 At the end of September, Dutch headlines showed us that the crisis in Holland may be over. The national market is yet to show us this recovery. A lot of companies are still struggling to see their business rise. The effect of the crisis however depend on the branch, as well as your market area of interest.

Steel Solutions is a company which has done extremely well in its first year of existence.  Business is going good but we are honest by saying that it could go better. That is something we have in our own hands. As you know Steel-Solutions has the ambition of becoming a big logistic key player on the European market. In order to achieve this, Steel-Solutions knows, you need a broad network and a lot of knowledge. Steel-Solutions already has a lot of knowledge and the network is growing every day. But great ambitions require big thinking. And thinking big we do.

Since a couple of weeks, Steel-Solutions is looking for new human resources. To achieve the European ambitions, more manpower and a broader network are required. Therefor we are looking for a new co-worker, an “Worldwide Overseas Freight Expediter” to be exact.

What exactly are we looking for?

 

(official vacancy)

Are you an agent at heart and are you looking for a new challenge in a highly dynamic environment? Steel-Solutions is looking for a Worldwide Overseas Freight Expediter with at least 5 years’ experience,  a good topographical knowledge and an extended relevant worldwide expedition network.
 

Location: Maastricht, Fulltime.

General job description;

-          The planning, arranging and booking of sea, rail and air transports worldwide.

-          The accepting of, handling of and searching for transport (bookings).

-          Your work area; worldwide.

 

Place in the organisation;

-          The expediter operates within the department Overseas Logistics, location Maastricht.

-          The expediter falls under the hierarchical superior of this department.

Job content;

The expediter is responsible for the timely and correct implementation of the following tasks:

-          The planning and booking of transports via modal-shift (road, rail, air, water) in the most efficient way possible.

-          The accepting of, handling of and searching for transport (bookings).

-          The outsourcing of transports.

-          The composing of customs- and transport-documents.

-          Daily deliberation with the warehouse regarding available loading capacity and load and unloading times.

-          Having intense contact with clients, agents, shipping companies and carriers on the service to deliver in order to maximize customer satisfaction.

-          (price) Negotiation with clients, agents, shipping companies and carriers.

-          The settlements of complaints and damages.

-          Executing administrational and registration tasks.  

-          When necessary, execute replacing tasks within the organisation.

The expediter is qualified to enter into financial obligations with clients, agents, shipping companies and carriers.

 

Function demands;

Education/ experience level.

-          HBO (bachelors) working- and thinking level.

-          Relevant knowledge of international transport and expedition branches.

-          Relevant knowledge of customs aspects/regulations, Incoterms 2010, transport conditions and the associated liabilities.

-          Demonstrational successful experience in a similar expediter function of at least 5 years.

Social skills;

-          Be able to correctly and professionally speak to both internal and external relations.

-          Have a commercial, customer- and service oriented attitude.

-          Consult with internal co-workers as well as officials.

-          Work and consult within a team, being a real team player.

-          Have a hardworking mentality with a problem solving and organising ability.

-          Be able to think in possibilities and solutions.

Other;

-          Have a flexible work attitude.

-          Be able to work under pressure and with tight deadlines (stress resistant)

-          Have excellent geographical knowledge.

-          Be accurate.

-          Have control of the Dutch, English and German language, spoken en written.

-          Have control of the French language is preferred.

-          Have skills in working with automated planning (systems) and the MS Office package.

-          Have an own relevant worldwide expedition network is a must. 

 

We offer;

-          Working conditions package.

-          Pension arrangements.

-         Training opportunities.

-          Career possibilities.

Steel-Solutions B.V. is a dynamic and growing company with a mission; “within the next 5 years, grow to become the most important steel distributor of Europe”. Our corporate culture can best be described as informal and direct, with a lot of space for personal initiative. Would you like to be part of that and are you the type of person that really want to go for it? Apply now by mailing to p&o@steel-solutions.nl. Would you like additional information? Please contact Mr. Gijs van Lier (06-16477376), Director Operations. 

Ukrainian opportunities.

Steel-Solutions B.V.

With a large amount of steel companies situated in Ukraine, there is enough activity and movement of steel to give this a serious try…

And serious we are. The first research has already been done. Ukraine is rich in steel plants and factories, both steel producing as well as steel processing. What strikes the most is that a lot of the companies are located in and around bigger cities in Ukraine. This is no strange phenomenon. There are no inland terminals, solely sea terminals. Transportation thus goes via road or railways. There is no need to situate near waterways if it does not provide you with an additional mode of transportation. So a logic place to establish your company is a place where the infrastructure already has to be good; in and around bigger cities.

Donetsk (displayed in blue on the map), a city with over 1 million inhabitants, and the area surrounding the city are home to 12 large steel companies.

1.       Ilyich Iron and Steel Works of Mariupol

2.       Azovstal Iron and Steel Works

3.       Makiyivka Metallurgical Plant

4.       Donetsk Metallurgical Plant

5.       Yenakiieve Iron and Steel Works

6.       Kuybyshev Metallurgical Plant of Kramatorsk

7.       Konstantinovka Iron and Steel Works

8.       Khartsyzsk Pipe Plant

9.       Energomashspetsstal

10.   Donetsk Metal Rolling Plant

11.   Artyomovsk Non-Ferrous Metals Processing Works

12.   Avdiyivsky Metal Construction Plant

Dnipropetrovsk (displayed in purple on the map), a city with over 1,1 million inhabitants, and its surrounding area are home to the following companies:

1.         ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih

2.         Nikopol Ferroalloys Plant

3.         Dniprovskyi Iron and Steel Works

4.         Dnipropetrovsk Pipe Plant

5.         Dniprovskyi Pipe Works

The Zaporizhzhya region (displayed in orange on the map), home to over 0.8 million people, is also the home of the following 6 companies.

1.       Zaporizhstal Integrated Iron and Steel Works

2.       Dneprospetsstal Electrometallurgical Works

3.       Zaporizhzhya Iron Works

4.       Zaporizhzhya Ferroalloys Plant

5.       Zaporizhzhya Steel Rolling Works

6.       Zaporizhzhya Constructional Iron Works

The last metal company rich region is the Lugansk (displayed in yellow on the map) with over 0.5 million inhabitants. 3 companies choose this region as their place of settlement.

1.       Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works

2.       Stakhanov Ferroalloys Plant

3.       Rubezhansk Pipe Works

What is very interesting about all these companies, is that it is a rich combination of steel producers and steel processors. But the organisation of the correct transportation, customs formalities and shipments via harbours remains a big challenge. A challenge that Steel Solutions is willing to accept; the perfect base for an international cooperation. If these things form a challenge for your company, why not give them to another company which already has experience in this department, and solve the difficulties for you? There are endless possibilities when it comes to logistics. Especially since there are multiple seaports in Ukraine and a wide network of railways tracks. 6 seaports (displayed in red on the map) all have short sea and long distance possibilities and over 21.500 km of railway track provide a lot of options for transport of steel products. Steel-Solutions already has experience with supplies and deliveries from Eastern Europe using the train. This can be the experience that these regions need.  

 

As you have been able to read in our previous blogpost, Ukrainian culture and habits in daily life as well as in business life differs from the Dutch culture. But that does not mean that Steel-Solutions will be put off by this. In order to create a new cooperation, you have to be willing to put in time and effort. A country that is so rich in steel and already so active in exporting steel is interesting for a company as Steel-Solutions. Consultation and agreements will have to be held in order to provide the Ukrainian companies with the information and security they need. It will take time and effort but something interesting could come out of the successful Factfinding Mission Logistics Ukraine.