[Interview] Raúl Hernández, General Manager, Marine Logistics Antares, Equatorial Guinea
Raúl Hernández is General Manager of logistics services company, Marine Logistics Antares, located in Equatorial Guinea.
His interview with Africa Business Communities:
Would you please introduce Marine Logistics Antares?
Marine Logistics Antares is a company offering all the range of logistic services specialized in the transit from Spain to Equatorial Guinea, though other parts of the world not left out.
We offer services of LCL, FCL and RO-RO by sea transportation. We also include a service for urgent shipments by plane, with the best rates in the market and offering the warranty that the cargo arrives on the date arranged. In our portfolio of services we take care of all details, implementing a door-to-door service so our clients have nothing to worry about.
In which industries does Marine Logistics Antares operate and who are your clients?
We offer high quality service to the two different kinds of clients we work for:
On one hand to the companies importing large cargo to Equatorial Guinea from anywhere in the world using our FCL service (Full 20” and 40” containers).
On the other hand we help to the persons that want to ship personal goods to Equatorial Guinea using our LCL Service.
These are our main clients – large companies and individuals – and they are treated with equal level of importance.
What are the USP’s of your business?
Well, we are a small company and we act accordingly. We offer a more personable service to our clients and treat their difficulties as ours. Some of our clients define our activity as a social work. Of course we are not a charity; our goal is to achieve benefits but always being on top of to our clients’ needs.
What has been your career before Marine Logistics Antares?
I have been quite a distance from this industry I now operate in. My professional career has been related to trade shows and business conferences. I have managed sales teams, looking for sponsor for these kinds of events for 10 years. I was really successful in this area but I felt I wanted to try new industries. I got this opportunity and I did not think twice – new sector, new opportunity and Africa. The perfect combination and I was not able to say no to it.
Have you launched or founded any companies/organizations/activities?
Years ago I launched a couple of businesses related to the food and beverage industry. First I opened a restaurant and later a lounge bar. I learned a lot from these two projects. I have spent all my life in public relations, so I implemented it to make these projects grow. I realized I did not have the time necessary to invest in it and keep it growing though, so I moved on. One of them is still running and is quite successful. I love to visit it; it feels like home.
What’s the best part about doing business in/with Africa?
My personal opinion is that Africa has the biggest potential of growth around the world. Sometimes I feel that Europe and America don’t take this continent into consideration for the level of importance it will command in a short time. They should be much closer to Africa and establishing a close relationship in readiness to close important agreements in the near future. I truly think it is the way we should be cooperating right now.
What can you say about the targets, plans and ambitions of Marine Logistics Antares for the rest of 2015?
Targets? Nowadays it’s really difficult in business to set targets and then achieve them at the end of the year. I mean targets like a number. Sorry about this, CFOs.
Plans and ambitions, we are full of them; we are sure we are working in the right direction so we have to keep going that way.
Also we have prepared an offer for the transit coming from China to Equatorial Guinea, with an LCL and FCL service. We own 3 brand offices in China so we are sure we can handle a great service in the shipment between these two countries.
Finally we are sure we work with the best rates for air shipments. We need to apply a commercial plan to show our clients that getting their cargo in a short period of time is not as expensive as they think it is.
Do you believe Social Media and the Internet to be a plus to the business environment, as it applies to your industry?
Personally I think it is, and I implement it in our business. Unfortunately this is a work in progress for us because Equatorial Guinea citizens are not really used to interacting with these tools for business or professional purposes. Anyway, I consider it to be an easy, fast and economic model of communication and our company takes advantage of it for sure.
Which African countries will perform best in 2015?
We have been working for the last 20 years in Equatorial Guinea, so for us this is the country where we are focused and the one we are sure the performance is going to keep improving, as it has been for the last decade. As countries bordering Equatorial Guinea, we have a high level of interest in Cameroon and Gabon. Nevertheless as I mentioned before, we are proud to give a service to any African country that demands it.
Africa Business Communities is conducting a series of interviews with CEO's and high-end professionals from Spain and Africa. Are you interested in an interview? Please send an e-mail to andrea@africabusinesscommunities.com