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Company profile
to a coordinated international master programme
C. Steinweg Group
C. Steinweg Group was established 175 years ago in the Netherlands as a warehousing firm but has since grown to become a global service provider in the fields of storage, transloading, forwarding, chartering and other logistics services. That all takes place at 135 locations in 55 countries and with 6,400 employees. The group’s customers are commodity traders who conduct business worldwide in raw materials and bulk goods.
Rob Geense (Risk & Insurance Manager) sums up this global operator in a few words. ‘Large quantities of steel, metal, iron, chemicals, wood, coffee, tea, cacao and lithium. These are some of the raw materials and bulk goods you will find at our terminals and warehouses around the world. We store them and arrange transport on behalf of our customers to their customers. We also offer a wide range of additional services. Everything from packaging, repackaging and customs clearance to the screening, cleaning and handling of goods.’
Sustainability and geopolitical challenges
There is no shortage of new trends and developments in Steinweg’s world of harbour cranes, sea containers and warehouses. ‘We find ourselves right in the middle of the energy transition,’ says Geense. ‘From the electrification of our high-quality equipment to the sustainable generation of electricity. We want to contribute to creating a future-proof world and our customers want the very same thing. However, there is a lot of turmoil in the world at the moment and that has led to a high level of uncertainty. Take, for example, the difficulties in the Suez Canal, riots and wars, rapidly rising import tariffs and the threat of trade wars,’ adds Geense. ‘Despite all the geopolitical and economic tensions, however, the flow of commodities will never stop. Simply because raw materials and end products will always be needed. But it is important that Steinweg remains alert. Because logistics routes all around the world are more susceptible to change than even before or have to be altered in order to avoid risks. We are constantly faced with the challenge of solving the logistics puzzle for our clients on the one hand and analysing, managing and insuring all the risks on the other.’
Rob Geense (Risk & Insurance Manager at C. Steinweg Group):
‘I have a legal background and have been working in the area of risk and insurance management for over thirty years. Primarily in the logistics sector and with a preference for businesses located on the coast. I like to tell people I can’t get enough of the sea air. No wonder I’ve felt so at home all these years at Steinweg, as 50 of the company’s 135 branches are located in international ports.’
Analysing, managing and insuring risks
Meijers Global & Specialty has been a trusted independent partner for Steinweg in the area of risk management and insurance for many years. ‘Ours is a very dynamic sector and we can count on their expertise and experience. They are a proactive knowledge partner and look after the coordination of Steinweg’s worldwide insurance programme. Fire and liability are significant risks. Take our terminals, for example. Fifty of them are located in international ports. A unique world of harbour cranes, containers, logistics equipment, large volumes of customers’ goods and the many people who work there. The level of security is very high and the locations are completely closed off from the outside world. But you can never rule out the possibility of something going wrong. Meijers Global & Specialty maps out all of the current risks and situations on the ground and provides us with fire and liability insurance. We have responsibilities all over the world; a world that, as we have already mentioned, is very volatile right now. Meijers Global & Specialty keeps track of all local and global developments. We have to deal with all kinds of issues, such as damage to cargo and blocking & trapping and even difficulties in evacuating people from dangerous areas. This requires us to have scenarios should things go wrong, as well as a carefully crafted insurance programme for transport and liability.’
Worldwide master programme
Geense tells us that C. Steinweg Group used to be a decentralised organisation. ‘Each country and each location was responsible for its own business and insurance policies were arranged and managed locally. That resulted in a very varied worldwide landscape of local portfolios and policies, all with different levels of loss limits. Four years ago, we decided to make the transition to a more centralised approach to insurance coverage and that transition was achieved with the help of Meijers Global & Specialty.’
‘The transition to a worldwide insurance solution has enabled the company to achieve greater economies of scale, substantial savings on costs and better coverage’
Economies of scale and savings on costs
The aim was to set up an international controlled master programme that would cover all of the international organisation and activities at Steinweg. ‘With room for local policies where required, as well,’ adds Geense. ‘There is enough room for local branches to make their own choices within the business culture at Steinweg but it is crucial to clearly explain why and how the international programmes differ from local policies in terms of limits, premiums and conditions. The transition to a worldwide insurance solution has enabled the company to achieve greater economies of scale, substantial savings on costs and better coverage,’ says Geense. ‘We have also achieved the comprehensive overview and central control that we desired. And we are secure in the knowledge that we comply with all international legislation. Compliance is essential at Steinweg.’
Prevention as flywheel
Naturally, Steinweg also focuses heavily on the prevention of damage. ‘Prevention works like a flywheel,’ says Geense, speaking from experience. ‘If, as a company, you learn from each incident, you can start to diminish and eliminate both small and large risks. Gradually, the awareness and mentality of your workers and the business as a whole begins to grow. And that literally leads to greater profits.’
Extensive analyses and comprehensive reports
Geense is very satisfied with the performance of and partnership with Meijers. ‘The team in Amstelveen has a lot of expertise and experience and is very proactive. They have access to extensive local knowledge all over the world, thanks to their networks of fellow international brokers. We regularly conduct open and frank conversations with each other on the basis of newly acquired expertise at Meijers Global & Specialty and specific questions from within our business. We also have access to in-depth analyses and comprehensive reports on global, national and local developments and risks and, obviously, on developments in the world of insurance.’
‘A global service provider in the fields of storage, transloading, forwarding, chartering and other logistics services. That all takes place at 135 locations in 55 countries and with 6,400 employees’
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Table of contents
to a coordinated international master programme
C. Steinweg Group
Company profile
Table of contents
‘A global service provider in the fields of storage, transloading, forwarding, chartering and other logistics services. That all takes place at 135 locations in 55 countries and with 6,400 employees’
Economies of scale and savings on costs
The aim was to set up an international controlled master programme that would cover all of the international organisation and activities at Steinweg. ‘With room for local policies where required, as well,’ adds Geense. ‘There is enough room for local branches to make their own choices within the business culture at Steinweg but it is crucial to clearly explain why and how the international programmes differ from local policies in terms of limits, premiums and conditions. The transition to a worldwide insurance solution has enabled the company to achieve greater economies of scale, substantial savings on costs and better coverage,’ says Geense. ‘We have also achieved the comprehensive overview and central control that we desired. And we are secure in the knowledge that we comply with all international legislation. Compliance is essential at Steinweg.’
Prevention as flywheel
Naturally, Steinweg also focuses heavily on the prevention of damage. ‘Prevention works like a flywheel,’ says Geense, speaking from experience. ‘If, as a company, you learn from each incident, you can start to diminish and eliminate both small and large risks. Gradually, the awareness and mentality of your workers and the business as a whole begins to grow. And that literally leads to greater profits.’
Extensive analyses and comprehensive reports
Geense is very satisfied with the performance of and partnership with Meijers. ‘The team in Amstelveen has a lot of expertise and experience and is very proactive. They have access to extensive local knowledge all over the world, thanks to their networks of fellow international brokers. We regularly conduct open and frank conversations with each other on the basis of newly acquired expertise at Meijers Global & Specialty and specific questions from within our business. We also have access to in-depth analyses and comprehensive reports on global, national and local developments and risks and, obviously, on developments in the world of insurance.’
‘The transition to a worldwide insurance solution has enabled the company to achieve greater economies of scale, substantial savings on costs and better coverage’
Analysing, managing and insuring risks
Meijers Global & Specialty has been a trusted independent partner for Steinweg in the area of risk management and insurance for many years. ‘Ours is a very dynamic sector and we can count on their expertise and experience. They are a proactive knowledge partner and look after the coordination of Steinweg’s worldwide insurance programme. Fire and liability are significant risks. Take our terminals, for example. Fifty of them are located in international ports. A unique world of harbour cranes, containers, logistics equipment, large volumes of customers’ goods and the many people who work there. The level of security is very high and the locations are completely closed off from the outside world. But you can never rule out the possibility of something going wrong. Meijers Global & Specialty maps out all of the current risks and situations on the ground and provides us with fire and liability insurance. We have responsibilities all over the world; a world that, as we have already mentioned, is very volatile right now. Meijers Global & Specialty keeps track of all local and global developments. We have to deal with all kinds of issues, such as damage to cargo and blocking & trapping and even difficulties in evacuating people from dangerous areas. This requires us to have scenarios should things go wrong, as well as a carefully crafted insurance programme for transport and liability.’
Worldwide master programme
Geense tells us that C. Steinweg Group used to be a decentralised organisation. ‘Each country and each location was responsible for its own business and insurance policies were arranged and managed locally. That resulted in a very varied worldwide landscape of local portfolios and policies, all with different levels of loss limits. Four years ago, we decided to make the transition to a more centralised approach to insurance coverage and that transition was achieved with the help of Meijers Global & Specialty.’
Rob Geense (Risk & Insurance Manager at C. Steinweg Group):
‘I have a legal background and have been working in the area of risk and insurance management for over thirty years. Primarily in the logistics sector and with a preference for businesses located on the coast. I like to tell people I can’t get enough of the sea air. No wonder I’ve felt so at home all these years at Steinweg, as 50 of the company’s 135 branches are located in international ports.’
Rob Geense (Risk & Insurance Manager) sums up this global operator in a few words. ‘Large quantities of steel, metal, iron, chemicals, wood, coffee, tea, cacao and lithium. These are some of the raw materials and bulk goods you will find at our terminals and warehouses around the world. We store them and arrange transport on behalf of our customers to their customers. We also offer a wide range of additional services. Everything from packaging, repackaging and customs clearance to the screening, cleaning and handling of goods.’
Sustainability and geopolitical challenges
There is no shortage of new trends and developments in Steinweg’s world of harbour cranes, sea containers and warehouses. ‘We find ourselves right in the middle of the energy transition,’ says Geense. ‘From the electrification of our high-quality equipment to the sustainable generation of electricity. We want to contribute to creating a future-proof world and our customers want the very same thing. However, there is a lot of turmoil in the world at the moment and that has led to a high level of uncertainty. Take, for example, the difficulties in the Suez Canal, riots and wars, rapidly rising import tariffs and the threat of trade wars,’ adds Geense. ‘Despite all the geopolitical and economic tensions, however, the flow of commodities will never stop. Simply because raw materials and end products will always be needed. But it is important that Steinweg remains alert. Because logistics routes all around the world are more susceptible to change than even before or have to be altered in order to avoid risks. We are constantly faced with the challenge of solving the logistics puzzle for our clients on the one hand and analysing, managing and insuring all the risks on the other.’
C. Steinweg Group was established 175 years ago in the Netherlands as a warehousing firm but has since grown to become a global service provider in the fields of storage, transloading, forwarding, chartering and other logistics services. That all takes place at 135 locations in 55 countries and with 6,400 employees. The group’s customers are commodity traders who conduct business worldwide in raw materials and bulk goods.
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