Venturing Newer Avenues To Stimulate The Economy

Seeking to strike the right balance between Challenges and Opportunities, the annual budget meeting of Console Shipping Services India was held in Delhi in March. The venue chosen this time was the calm and quite Ramada Gurgaon. Managers and key decision makers from all over the Indian offices attended the meeting which was chaired by T S Kaladharan, Chairman CSS group. In his inaugural address, he congratulated the employees for the tremendous growth that the company has achieved in India during last financial year. He also emphasised the need for path-breaking approaches to tackle the seamlessly changing turbulent global economic scenario.

Budget presentations were done zone wise this year initiated by Rajesh Arora, Vice president North India who did the North India presentations. Central India and South India presentations were done by Rahat Talreja, Vice president Central India and Sudharshan Vice President South India, respectively. Presentations on general Market situations in the Middle East were done by Siby Kurian, Vice President Sales & Marketing and Ajay Krishnan, Vice President Freight forwarding CSS Group. Chandrakala (Ck), Director Operations and Ocean freight briefed the attendees on the latest developments in the IT and the ERP Solutions of CSS Group.

The CSS Group Management while assuring support to the suggestions which was put forth during the meeting by the delegates, re-iterated the need for focussed approached on certain niche areas which needs an upliftment.

Services offered

• LCL Consolidation & FCL
• Multi-modal Operations
• Ocean freight
• Air freight
• Buyers consolidation
• Customs clearance
• Projects Management
• Warehousing
• Supply chain & Logistics

CSS Group at GPLN

12th GPLN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

GPLN concluded successfully their 12th Annual General Meeting at the 5-star Landmark Hotel in Bangkok from February 08-10, 2015 where a multitude of GPLN members and sponsors attended. The record breaking attendance of over 170 GPLN delegates is the highest in GPLN history and speaks itself for the quality of the network and their highly skilled project forwarders
GPLN brings together project cargo experts and independent project logistics specialist companies from around the world, all of whom have an expert focus on project logistics. This general meeting allows the participant the face-to-face contact with your GPLN partners where you are able to efficiently build professional relationships in the most lasting and cost effective manner.
Raj George, Senior Vice President, Projects, Oil & Energy, CSS Group, Narayan RT, General Manager CSS Bahrain and Renjith Pillai, Branch Manager, CSS Abu Dhabi represented  CSS Group during the three day GPLN Annual Global Meeting.
“GPLN is always a wonderful platform that provides great opportunities to discuss and formulize new ideas related to projects forwarding. We have pleasure in being a part of this network and gain a lot of mileage from attending the annual meet regularly,” Raj George mentioned.

CSS AT FPS Meet

PORTO HOSTS 16TH FPS ANNUAL MEETING

CSS Delegation attended the 16th Annual Meeting of FPS Group – the global forwarding and NVOCC network –which hosted 87 delegates from 40 countries. The intensive 4-day programme – under the theme “New Era – New Spirit” – took place in Porto, Portugal, and was hosted by local FPS member, G-Freight. In addition to the formal AGM and shareholder business, followed by updates on IT, network development and marketing, this year’s event also included 828 one-to-one meetings between members, spread over two days.

Three new members – Link Logistics of Turkey, FP Shipping of Singapore and Facilities Shipping of Pakistan – were introduced to delegates.

Speaking after the event, FPS Group Advisory Board Chairman Benny Ling said: “Despite the unfortunate clash with India’s Diwali celebrations, we had a strong turn-out, and many new business opportunities arose from the meetings between members.”

“FPS remains committed to strengthening its network for the benefit of all its members, rather than for the owners’ financial gain. The Annual Meeting has re-charged everyone’s enthusiasm, and we go forward with a number of plans for the coming year that will see our system grow larger and stronger.”

The 17th FPS Annual Meeting will take place in October 2015, in the major port city of Xiamen, Eastern China, hosted by FPS Xiamen.

CSS Group was represented by Siby C Kurian- Sr. General Manager Sales & Marketing CSS Group, Rajesh Arora- VP CSS India, Narayan R T- General Manager CSS Bahrain, Dean Landers- General Manager CSS Kuwait, & Midhun George, Sales Manager CSS Abu Dhabi.

FPS AGM 2014

The FPS Group Annual General Meeting and its week-long programme of associated meeting and events will be held at the Hotel Solverde Spa & Wellness Center, Oporto, Portugal from October 20-25, 2014. This year’s FPS AGM theme is, “New era, new spirit.”

The week long programme begins with Welcome to Oporto Advisory Board meetings, on Monday October 20th followed by an executive summit on Tuesday, October 21st for all full members. This will be followed by a welcome dinner for all those attending the AGM and conference. The AGM itself will take place on Wednesday October 22nd, followed by two days of 1:1 meetings on the 23rd and 24th of October. On Saturday October 25th, there will be an (optional) city tour for all the attendees of the AGM. Representing CSS Dubai is Siby C. Kurian, Sr. General Manager, Sales & Marketing and Dean Landers, General Manager, CSS Kuwait.

“The AGM is an excellent opportunity for all the group members to share and discuss the business growth and strategize for the next year. The annual general meeting is an important occasion in the FPS calendar, which provides the unique chance for its members to participate in business discussions, hear presentations and talks on specific topics by experts and express your views. CSS Group looks forward to attend the FPS AGM in the most scenic Portuguese ambiences and to participate with other members,” added Siby C. Kurian.

NAFL Gathering

CSS ATTENDS NAFL GATHERING OF ARAB UNION OF LAND TRANSPORT

The National Association of Freight and Logistics (NAFL) on Sunday April 20th, 2014 hosted the Arab Union of Land Transport (AULT) annual meeting and  was inaugurated under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed  Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Honorary Patron, at the World Trade Centre in Dubai, UAE. The event focused on enhancing the industry and to improve operational efficiency in the freight and logistics industry in the region, with one eye on elevating the standards of the industry in line with the UAE’s objectives of excellence.

Presentations on the industry were conducted by important senior officials and dignitaries. “NAFL is pleased to have hosted the annual meetings and its opening ceremony, and sees it as a chance to push the bar further up this year. This was an important event for our industry and we are proud to have had it in Dubai. The UAE has a modern and advanced infrastructure, which is vital for every growing economy,” said David Phillips, President NAFL at the conference.

CSS Group was represented by Ken Dinnadge, VP Business Development and Amith Horra, Marketing Manager, at the event.  The event saw an attendance of over 700 participants from around 15 Arab nations and the UAE.

The spokespeople at the event were Mohammed Ibrahim Al Tuwaijri Arab League’s Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs, Abdulla Bin Damithan Director Commercial DP World, UAE Region, Saeed Al Tayer, Director of Jebel Ali Custom Centers, Atiq Juma Nasib Head of Dubai Chamber’s Commercial Services Sector, Eng. Mahmood Al Bastaki, CEO Dubai Trade and Fahd Al-Rasheed the CEO and Managing Director of King Abdulla Economic City who spoke about the Kingdom’s new project relevant to the industry.

“CSS is a NAFL member which is a non-profit organization with 310 members, including top multinational companies as well as large, medium and small national enterprises. NAFL is the official UAE representative of FIATA, which is the global body that represents the freight forwarding industry and works closely with UAE government bodies to help enhance the freight and logistics industry.  Attending this event was extremely important for CSS as it was an opportunity to interact with senior transport officials from member Arab states,” added Ken Dinnadge, VP Business Development, CSS.

The main event supporters and host of NAFL were leading members of the shipping and logistics fraternity as well as key government institutions such as Dubai Chamber, DP World, Dubai Customs, and Etihad Rail.

GPLN 11th Annual General Meet

CSS GROUP ATTENDS 11TH GPLN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING IN HUA HIN, THAILAND, MARCH 16-18, 2014



GPLN successfully concluded their 11th Annual General Meeting at the Dusit Thani Hua Hin Hotel. A multitude of GPLN members, sponsors and trade media representatives from around the world had plenty of networking opportunities during intense meetings and social events to maintain and establish new contacts that will greatly benefit their business. The record breaking attendance of over 160 GPLN delegates was the highest in GPLN history. Raj George, Senior Vice President, Projects, Oil & Energy, CSS Group, Narayan RT, General Manager CSS Bahrain and Renjith Pillai, Branch Manager, CSS Abu Dhabi represented CSS Group during the three day GPLN Annual Global Meeting. As one the sponsors for the GPLN Annual General Meeting, CSS Group would like to extend their thanks and gratitude to GPLN for organizing the annual meeting. “It was planned well and informative as we were able to network with members and discuss various trends and market forecasts within the industry,” added Raj George, Senior Vice President, Projects, Oil & Energy, CSS Group.

The GPLN delegates celebrated the annual meeting in style and the gala dinner featured outstanding performances by local Thai artist at the award winning Dusit Thani Hua Hin Hotel.

The annual meeting was coinciding with GPLN’s 10th anniversary and every attending GPLN member office received a free copy of a specially issued commemorative GPLN Photobook with almost 400 pages showing the great moves that the GPLN members arranged in the past for their customers and also GPLN at the various events throughout the year.

10th Anniversary of GPLN

The GPLN Annual Global Meeting will see GPLN celebrating its 10th anniversary from March 16-18, 2014 on their home turf in Bangkok. The event will be held at the prestigious Landmark Hotel, Bangkok.

Raj George, Senior Vice President, Projects, Oil & Energy, CSS Group, Narayan RT, General Manager CSS Bahrain and Renjith Pillai, Branch Manager, CSS Abu Dhabi will be representing CSS Group during the three day GPLN Annual Global Meeting whereby they will be able to network with various members and discuss various trends and market forecasts within the industry.

“We are looking forward to attending the upcoming GPLN Annual Global Meeting as we are afforded the opportunity to meet a multitude of partner companies to discuss past, current and future business, exchange sales leads and develop a range of business possibilities within the GPLN Network. On behalf of CSS Group we would like to congratulate GPLN on their 10th Anniversary milestone,” added Raj George, Senior Vice President, Projects, Oil & Energy, CSS Group.

About GPLN Annual Meeting: GPLN brings together project cargo experts and independent project logistics specialist companies from around the world, all of whom have an expert focus on project logistics. The Annual Global Meeting will allow members a face-to-face contact with other GPLN partners whereby they will be able to efficiently build professional relationships in the most lasting and cost effective manner.

Cargo Ball 2013 CSS Joins for a Glittering Evening with Cargo Fraternity

The 4th Annual Cargo Ball 2013 is a premier non formal cargo industry event in the Middle East filled with a glittering evening of entertainment and international buffet dinner, attracting participants from the entire freight forwarding and logistics industry from around the world. The event was held on Thursday 28th November at Jumeirah Creekside Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The event was well attended by senior representatives from airlines, freight forwarders, logistics and ground handling agents and the evening aided all the attendees to come together to build industry partnerships and long-term business relationships.

“Cargo Ball 2013 is an occasion to mix business with a social gathering, at the same time contributes to a worthy cause. The general setting was a business networking session to consolidate current connections, revive old ones and even establish new contacts, all this in a cordial and social environment. In addition we are contributing to a worthy cause in the community – Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs,” added Jacob Isaac, General Manager Air Freight, CSS.

The sponsors and delegates in association with the organizers Arabian Reach FZ LLC donated 20% of the event revenue to the “Al Noor Training for Children with Special Needs” a special project dedicated to the welfare of the special needs children.

Al Noor Training Center for children with special needs has been in existence since 1981 and provides quality and effective training to the special needs community of Dubai. The center supports children with challenges such as Downs Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy and Autism. These are addressed through special education methods, physiotherapy, speech therapy and occupational therapy. Al Noor also has its own work placement unit, which trains children with an aptitude for open employment.??CSS Group since its inception has continually worked closely with the Al Noor Training Center to raise awareness about children with special needs not only through gala dinners, but also by way of souvenir magazines, directories and advertisements.

The CSS delegation who had attended this event included, Sreenath.V, Senior General Manager, Projects, Oil & Energy/Ops, Siby C. Kurian, Senior General Manager, Sales & Marketing, Rakesh Menon, Senior General Manager, CSS Logistics, Ajay Krishnan, Senior General Manager Ocean Freight, Jacob Issac, General Manager Air Freight, Suku Sudhakaran, General Manager, CSS Homeward Bound, Fida Asghar, Team Manager, NVOCC, Roshmon Manoli, Route Development Manager, North America, Amith Horra, Marketing Manager, and Baiju Sadanand, Manager Operations, Air Freight.

Budget Meet 2013

CSS TO OPEN UP NEWER AVENUES TO ENHANCE THE INDIAN TRADE

Seeking to strike a right balance between challenges and opportunities, the annual budget meeting of CSS India was held at Estuary Island, a pristine resort, not far away from Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala. Managers and key decision makers from all over the Indian offices attended the meeting which was chaired by TS Kaladharan, Chairman, CSS Group. In his inaugural address, he applauded the employees for the tremendous growth that the company has achieved during last financial year. Further, he also emphasized on the immediate necessity for inventing path-breaking approaches to tackle the seamlessly changing turbulent market conditions.

Anil Balakrishnan, Vice President, Business development, CSS Group illustrated various structural processes that can be implemented to enhance the entire system and yield more results in the future. His suggestions were well received by the group and the various technical aspects in relation to the processes were discussed. Budget figures and analysis of each of the CSS Group offices were presented by the respective managers with a key focus on their projections and strategies. The management, while assuring support to the various suggestions put forward by the delegates, also stressed upon investing for a better tomorrow through clever delegation and planning.

CSS Group Chairman highlighted certain new business developments for CSS India which will fructify in the next two quarters. These operations, when executed will open up new trade lanes for the Indian offices. Pointing to the remarkable growth achieved by the southern offices of the company, CSS India Director Jairam KR said that more thrust would be given to developing operations in the region. Presently, CSS Group operates from all gateway ports and cities of India. CSS India plans to have remote satellite presence to boost the rural trade and bring in a major growth of business to the main locations.

Services offered by CSS India include:

• LCL Consolidation & FCL
• Multi-modal Operations
• Ocean freight
• Air freight
• Buyers consolidation
• Customs clearance
• Projects Management
• Warehousing
• Supply chain & Logistics

GPLN Annual Meeting Abu Dhabi

10th GPLN Annual Global Meeting in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., April 16-18, 2013
Following the success of the 9th Annual Global Meeting, held in Singapore in 2012, the 2013 edition welcomed over 160 specialists in project logistics to the InterContinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi for intense networking meetings and relaxed gatherings during social functions.
GPLN brings together project cargo experts and independent project logistics specialist companies from around the world, all of whom have an expert focus on project logistics.
For the 2013 edition of the GPLN Annual Global Meeting, over 160 members from 50 different countries signed up and attended the AGM in Abu Dhabi which is the highest number of attendees in GPLN history!
Furthermore 30 persons booked the Heavy Transport and Lifting Course on April 16 and close to 100 delegates joined the desert dinner on the last evening on April 18.
Raj George, Senior Vice President, Projects, Oil & Energy, CSS Group, Arjun Bose, Director, CSS Abu Dhabi, Ahmad Fuad, Asst. General Manager, CSS Abu Dhabi and Narayan RT, General Manager CSS Bahrain represented CSS Group during the GPLN Annual Meeting 2013 whereby they were able to network with various members and discuss various trends and market forecasts within the industry.

GPLN Annual Meeting Abu Dhabi

Global Project Logistics Network (GPLN) will be conducting its 10th GPLN Annual Global Meeting at the InterContinental Hotel in Abu Dhabi, from April 16 – 18, 2013.
Raj George, Senior Vice President, Projects, Oil & Energy, CSS Group, Arjun Bose, Director, CSS Abu Dhabi, Ahmad Fuad, Asst. General Manager, CSS Abu Dhabi and Narayan RT, General Manager CSS Bahrain will be representing CSS Group during the two day GPLN Annual Meeting whereby they will be able to network with various members and discuss various trends and market forecasts within the industry.
About GPLN Annual Meeting: GPLN brings together project cargo experts and independent project logistics specialist companies from around the world, all of whom have an expert focus on project logistics. This global meeting will allow members a face-to-face contact with other GPLN partners whereby they will be able to efficiently build professional relationships in the most lasting and cost effective manner. It is an opportunity to meet a multitude of partner companies to discuss past, current and future business, exchange sales leads, and develop a range of business possibilities within the GPLN Network.

CSS Annual Staff Party 2012

CSS Group celebrated its 17th anniversary staff party at The ICC-GCA Cricket Grounds on Thursday November 29th, 2012. In conjunction with the SPACE-CSS Alleppey Ripples cricket match, the staff and their families enjoyed watching first class cricket while enjoying dinner catered by Tharavad Restaurant- “truly authentic South Indian Cuisine.” On this auspicious occasion the employees who had completed 10 years of service, Mr. Qais Abdulla, Ms. Gillian Alexander, Mr. Ansar Ali, Mr. Hassan Haji, Mr. Biju Kumar, Mr. Bhaskara Paniker, Mr. Sajith Vijayan and Madhu Parameswaran were honored for their valuable service.  The staff and families celebrated the SPACE-CSS Alleppey Ripples cricket match win in high spirits encouraged by the music played by the DJ who kept the party going till late!

CSS Group Chairman and the Senior Management extended their gratitude to the sponsors, valued associates, and all CSS departments who had sponsored the prizes for the CSS 17th Anniversary Annual Staff Party.

FPS Group AGM 2012

FPS Group Annual General Meeting would be held at the NH Marina hotel, Genoa, Italy from the 23rd to 26th October 2012. The group member’s executive summit will be held on the 23rd and the annual general meeting would be held on the 24th. This will be followed by one-to-one meetings on the following days of 24th and 25th. The entire programme will be garnished by cocktail receptions and gala dinners. The AGM would be an excellent opportunity for all the group members to share and discuss the business growth and strategize for the next year. The annual general meeting is an important occasion in the FPS calendar, which provides the unique chance for its members to participate in business discussions, hear presentations and talks on specific topics by experts and express your views. CSS Group looks forward to attend the FPS AGM  in the most scenic Italian ambiences and to participate with other members.

For Information and Bookings: Cindy Ko Tel: 852 2599 0508 or Email : group-adm@fps.com.hk

DP World Reports 10% Increase In Container Volumes In First Quarter Of 2012

DP World Limited held its Annual General Meeting for the year ended 31 December 2011 recently and World Chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem made the following statement regarding trading in the first quarter of 2012.

“Across our global portfolio of marine terminals, DP World has seen a 9.5% increase in gross volumes in the first quarter of 2012 handling 13.8 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units). Excluding the contribution from new capacity, like for like growth was 7.4%.

“This growth was driven by an excellent performance in our Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent region which reported 14.6% growth in volumes as new capacity across the region supported strong growth across our Asia Pacific portfolio. Growth in Europe, Middle East and Africa region was 4.4% with a good performance in the Middle East and Africa mitigating the ongoing challenging operating environment in Europe. The Americas and Australia region reported growth of 8.7% driven by a very strong performance in the Americas region.

“Our portfolio of consolidated terminals reported container volumes of 6.6 million TEU. Had our five terminals in Australia not been deconsolidated from the 12 March 2011, underlying growth would have been 5.9% when compared to the same period last year.

“Jebel Ali, UAE has continued to deliver strong volume growth handling 3.2 million TEU in the first three months of the year, 8.5% ahead of the same period last year.

“The global macroeconomic uncertainty has continued into 2012. With our portfolio focused on the faster growing emerging markets and more stable origin and destination (O&D) markets, we remain committed to delivering improved operational and financial performance over 2011”.

CSS Attends Peters & May Annual Meeting Dusseldorf – Germany

CSS VP Business Development, Ken Dinnadge and Edward Morgan, CSS/Peters & May-Yacht and Marine Logistics Manager recently attended a global gathering in Dusseldorf, Germany in order to discuss ways to further enhance relations with the Peters & May global team as well as to discuss operations and commercial strategies.

As Peters & May is going through some restructuring and reengineering attending this global meeting was crucial in order to offer a broader range of services as well as to ensure the global network is focusing on emerging markets and their core business.

Peters & May Ltd., a marine logistics company, manages and handles the transportation of boats, yachts, and associated marine peripherals. It arranges and handles boat/yacht transportation via air, sea, and road; arranges shipping for masts and urgent spares, marine equipment and supplies, and support containers; and assists its clients in various aspects of event management and provides logistics support for sporting, marketing, and commercial projects. The company also offers documentation services for shipments; and air courier services for documents and parcels. Peters & May Ltd. was formerly known as Taskmarsh Limited and changed its name to Peters & May Ltd. in April 1989. The company now has a global network, which includes CSS in the Middle East region.

“We were delighted that so many of our network of Peters & May agents were able to come together in Dusseldorf, especially those who came from as far away as the UAE and America. To have so many experienced marine transport professionals in the same place was a real privilege. We are aware that, now more so than ever before, our team is our strongest asset and we made some great steps forward during our time together in Germany to ensure that we maintain the industries faith in us as the world’s number one boat transport provider,”added David Holley, CEO, Peters & May Group.

CSS VP Business Development, Ken Dinnadge said, “This was an excellent meeting as well as a good opportunity to put names to faces in order to further strengthen relations as well as discuss business diversification across the Global Marine sector.”

Ken and Edward attended this year’s Dusseldorf boat show in order to meet potential as well as existing customers who are looking at the Middle East region for all of their global yacht and marine logistic needs.

FPS AGM-Bali Indonesia

FPS Group recently held their annual AGM (Annual General Meeting) at the Intercontinental Bali Resort in Indonesia from October 18-21st, 2011. The FPS AGM is a platform for its members around the world to participate in networking sessions with other freight forwarders from across the globe whilst discussing new trends and opportunities amongst the freight forwarding fraternity.

CSS Group was well represented during the AGM with active participation from its network offices. Dean Landers, General Manager CSS Kuwait, Jairam KR, Director CSS India, Rajesh Arora, Asst. GM Import CSS India, Narayan R T, General Manager CSS Bahrain, Siby C Kurian, General Manager Sales & Marketing, CSS Dubai & Rajagopal, Sr. General Manager Finance, CSS Dubai attended the prestigious FPS AGM 2011.

Loving Moments

Jean-Paul van Munster, FPS Managing Director Rotterdam and Hetty Hof with the crystal memorabile, presented by T S Kaladharan, Chairman CSS Group for their engagement during the FPS annual general meet in Bali, Indonesia.

CSS Group wishes you a successful journey together.