Interview of the week – DCS ASTA LOGISTIK – Spain

Born in Barcelona in 1968, Franco has a Bachelor’s degree in Nautical.

He has sailed on various ships as a student, although his professional career has developed ashore but always linked to the maritime business. 

Tell us about DCS ASTA LOGISTIK. Who owns the company?

Our former company was created in 1992 by the name of ASTA LOGISTIK.

Del Corona Scardigli acquired it in 2018 after a long partnership collaboration, thus becoming part of the DCS Group as DCS ASTA LOGISTIK. 

Where are your offices located?

Our headquarters are located in Barcelona. We also have commercial and operational offices in Valencia, Alicante, Irun, Zaragoza and airport of Barcelona.

What is DCS ASTA LOGISTIK specialty and service range?

We are rendering service mainly to the chemical industry, ceramic industry and project cargo.

We try to provide as many in-house services as possible and our main departments are maritime and road transport. 

Air freight, customs formalities and insurance brokerage are also done in-house.

Can you can tell us a few words about the DCS Group in general?

DCS Group is one of the oldest Italian forwarders and one of the “top logistic providers” in Italy, especially in the chemical sector, having more than 60 offices around the world and including a partnered company specialized in project cargo in Italy, well known to all of us, DCS Liburnus.

Do you offer services on international or rather domestic level?

Our majority of services are domestic but the need to offer international services has increased substantially in recent times, especially in the project cargo sector.

Tell us about projects that you have handled recently.

We are fully involved in several renewable energy projects located in Ghana & Cameroun since mid-2019 that, fortunately, have not been affected by the pandemic situation we are experiencing.

We are also currently working, not in such level, in other West African countries, mainly Senegal, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Gambia.

Furthermore, we are moving materials and railway machinery to the Follo Line project in Norway for one of the suppliers.

Which are the main ports used in Spain for project cargo?

The ports used for project cargo are located in the north of Spain, mainly the port of Bilbao due to its heavy industry, the port of Santander and the port of Gijón.

The rest of the ports are located along the Mediterranean shoreline, such as Tarragona, Castellón and Sagunto.

Is the o/g licensing procedure time consuming or expensive in Spain? 

The time needed to obtain permits is the main headache in Spain, as it may take longer than expected, especially when, in addition to the national authority, there are regions involved in the road route that have the traffic management of some roads assigned by the Spanish government, such as Catalonia or the Basque Country.  

Requests must be made several months in advance in those cases, where all three authorities are involved at the same time.

What made you join the industry?

It was a natural choice for my studies, although I think it came too early.

After finishing them and while obtaining my degree I started working in the traffic department of a freight forwarder and I remained ashore.

I continued working in a control & survey company and several shipping agencies until my current position within the project department at DCS ASTA LOGISTIK.

It was a pity not to sail as a professional, but there is no complaint.

What do you like the most about your business?

I like everything that this business implies and that has been mentioned in previous interviews, but, in particular, being on a ship loading or unloading, stress in difficult moments, conversations, more or less cordial, with the Master and First Officer on one hand and with the terminal, including the dockers, on the other until the ending of operations, are things that completely fulfill me.

How not to love a job in which one of the main actors end their messages with an AGW advising that not everything is under control, forcing you to learn and interact with other people every day to have the means to continue in our business.

Who should be approached in DCS ASTA LOGISTICS for inquiries?

You can learn more about DCS ASTA Logistik at www.dcsspain.com, DCS Group at www.delcoronascardigli.com or reach us via e-mail at [email protected].