Following the recent integration of spare parts deliveries for Kia dealerships in Belgium and Luxembourg (read more here), NYK Logistics Belgium has celebrated its 20th anniversary in the country.
The first ship NYK sent from Japan to Europe made its first port of call at Antwerp in 1896 establishing ties that were to remain until the company set up its Belgian logistics division there in 1989. This began at an office in the Antwerp city centre before moving to a facility in Melsele in the port area of the city handling storage and distribution for the chemical company EVAL Europe.
In 2001 the company began a new business model tackling aftersales and spare parts distribution with automotive customers. “We gradually developed that activity, first in Belgium and Luxembourg, and then added the Netherlands and later on a network in France,” said Eric Derbaix senior manager at NYK Logistics Belgium.
The company now has 12 automotive customers in the region and, following a period of consolidation during the recent difficulties facing the automotive industry, is now focussed again on vertical development and strengthening its integrated network in Benelux and in France according to Derbaix.
NYK Logistics Belgium has three logistic gravity centres and six warehouses and handles automotive parts distribution as well as supplier pick up services and logistics including storage. At the ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge, NYK RoRo and ICO (a NYK group company) offer a wide range of PDI and terminal operations, as well as shipping.
The company is keen to foster a strong contact between Japan and Belgium as seen by the appointment of former NYK chairman and president Takao Kusakari as chairman of the Japan-Belgium Society. The society strives to build social and cultural exchange activities and to contribute to the development of the economies of both Japan and Belgium through the expansion of trade between the two countries. Kusakari remains an NYK director and currently serves the company as a counsellor to the board of directors.
To celebrate the anniversary of activity in the country, NYK will open a temporary museum detailing its activity over the years at the Transport & Logistics fair, which is held in Antwerp on October 20-22.
