RAK Free Trade Zone - SCLG

Exclusive InterviewClarion Shipping ServicesThe Clarion Call—Clarion Shipping all set toexpand operationsAniyan Kutty charts out the future for his companyHowever foggy the currenteconomic situation mightappear, there is clarity in ClarionShipping Services’ broad corporate visionas enunciated by the firm’s supremo. The16-year old company, now an establishedone-stop integrated logistics solutionsprovider, aspires to become a global leaderin shipping, forwarding and logistics and toprovide a comprehensive range of servicesits growing customer base across the worldthrough quality logistics solutions.Currently, Dubai-headquartered ClarionShipping Services which commencedoperations in the UAE in 1996 is well andtruly a global corporate institution, withover 50 offices spanning over 20 countriesacross the Middle East and the Africancontinent; Hong Kong covering the Far Eastand North Asia; Singapore covering SouthEast Asia; Mumbai covering the Indiansubcontinent; Los Angeles covering NorthAmerica and in Melbourne, Australia. Itemploys over 800 multi-national, multilingualstaff and recorded a freight turnoverof USD $ 150 million in 2012.The company moves a wide range ofgoods ranging from food stuffs, edibles andcommodities to textiles, cement, bitumen,tyres, machinery and heavy equipment,fertilizers and consumer goods. Thevastness of its operations can be gaugedfrom the relative sizes of its multiple,expansive Dubai warehouses that includea colossal 50000 sq. m. facility in the JebelAli Free Trade Zone (JAFZA); a 600,000 sq.ft. open yard in the Dubai Industrial City(DIC); a 7500 sq. ft. warehouse in Al Quozwith multi-racking system; a 3000 sq. ft.warehouse in the Al Rashidiya exclusivelyfor African traders; a 8000 sq. m. CPL(Centre Point Logistics) yard and a 1200 sq.m. SAL (Sea-Air-Land) yard. The companyis also the recipient of several industryawards including multiple-recognition byMaersk and UASC Lines and Certificate ofAppreciation Awards in 2011 by DIHADAniyan Kutty, Managing DirectorClarion Shipping Services(Dubai International Humanitarian Aid &Development Conference) and DUPHAT(Dubai International Pharmaceuticals andTechnologies Conference). Additionally,the company also has diversified interestsin IT, Civil Construction, Steel Fabrication,Trading and Transportation. The Groupoperates in 35 plus countries with over3000 employees and has a turnover ofclose to USD $ 1 billion.Aniyan Kutty is the Managing Director ofClarion Shipping Services and the drivingforce behind the company’s spectaculargrowth. The Link met with him for anexclusive interview at his offices in BurDubai where he spoke expansively abouthis early days with the company, the currentsituation and his vision for the future.The Link: Briefly trace the 16-yearcorporate journey of Clarion ShippingServices from its beginnings in 1996 to thepresent time as a top logistics provider?Aniyan Kutty: I started Clarion ShippingServices initially with a 1000 sq. ft. office. Ibelieve it was only a natural progression forme given my life-long career in shippingwith APL in Saudi Arabia and earlier in Indiabefore I relocated to the UAE. Driven bythis entrepreneurial spirit, we got down towork immediately developing our team &personnel, building up our customer base,our geographical logistics networks andinvesting heavily in infrastructure as theindustry is both very labour and capital32 October 2012