Only the best for - Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics

wwl to service
honda’s newest us plant
hondA Will open its newest
American assembly plant in Greensburg,
Indiana, in September this year.
The plant will produce Civic sedans
and will be able to manufacture up to
200,000 vehicles annually. An on-site
team from WWL will provide technical
services including yard management,
inventory and process control,
quality control/damage prevention,
truck staging and rail loading.
“Obviously, we are very
excited to grow our partnership
with Honda, one of the world’s
premier brands,” says John Felittio,
With its reCent migration to
a new computer system, WWL’s
Smyrna VPC in Tennessee, US,
decided to donate 52 Dell computers
to the local Rutherford County
School System. The computers will
be installed in the libraries of several
schools in the area to help students
learn computer and research skills.
Deputy Head of Region Americas.
“Expanding our Technical Services
product to support key customers
like Honda is an essential part
of our Long Term Strategy, and I
commend the entire Honda East
Liberty team for making this new
business possible!”
Despite the slow US economy,
Honda is still managing impressive
growth; total Honda car sales
set a new June record for the first
time since 1990 at 97,639, up 34.2
percent compared to the previous
year’s figures.
donating computers to students
neW liner serViCe for
AsiA-europe route
In recent years there has been
a significant increase in construction
machinery and NCC
shipments on the Asia to Europe
route. This is a route where WWL
has traditionally catered for car
shipments, focusing on auto
manufacturers’ specific loading
dates. Having noted that this pattern
does not suit manufacturers
of construction (H&H) and NCC
machinery WWL is now in addition
offering fixed sailings every ten
days on the route.
The new Asia-Europe Liner
Service will be gradually phased-in
from October 2008 and the transit
time will be 40 to 45 days.
Q&A
“it takes years
to develop a
reputation of
trustworthiness”
jerry mahoney, corporate Account
manager at wwl, helped
acquire isuzu’s high & heavy
business for the expanded vpc
in the port of baltimore. he believes
the agreement is indicative
of wwl’s unique customer
care abilities.
what is the relationship between
isuzu and wwl?
“We have a long-standing
relationship for US ocean exports,
but this new business was the
basis for establishing our High
& Heavy VPC facility. WWL
will receive, process and store
7,000 of Isuzu’s medium-duty
commercial trucks annually.
That includes any required
repairs, accessory installation
who: Jerry Mahoney
what: Corporate Account
Manager at WWL
About: Acquiring Isuzu’s High
& Heavy business for WWL’s
new VPC in Baltimore, US.
and general maintenance to ensure vehicles are always dealerready.”
how was the agreement established? what advantages did
wwl offer isuzu?
“Negotiations spanned 12 months and involved global divisions.
Our strengths were our reputation for quality and our established
relationships. It takes years to develop a reputation of trustworthiness
– both individually and corporately – and it can be
jeopardised with one misstep. No matter how large the business,
it comes down to people trusting each other. During negotiations,
we didn’t have a High & Heavy facility established. We were
selling our reputation, and WWL’s management of processing
facilities is recognised as the best. Isuzu was under pressure to
relocate their operations, and we were able to accommodate
their urgent request to accept vehicles two months earlier than
planned. That kind of customer-centred action is rare and sets
WWL apart.”
what are the future plans for the vpc?
“We are working right now on additional business that will have
a faster throughput in the facility. WWL already has many existing
customers that are crucial to our diversified ocean business. They
haven’t had as many options for factory to dealer services, so both
the customers and WWL will benefit from the expanded service
opportunity that this facility provides.”
Meg ConAton
VENTURE 3 2008