Interview of the week - Rhenus Project Logistics - New York - USA

Colin has been in the Logistics Industry for almost 30 years with a focus on Project Logistics for the last 25 years. He has a BA in Economics, Math & Statistics from the University of Bombay (now Mumbai). In addition, he has completed his Business Management from UCLA Extension (University of California, Los Angeles). Based in New York, Colin leads the Rhenus Project Logistics, Inc. team in USA serving as its President. He believes that teamwork and forging relationships with customers, vendors and colleagues are the cornerstone of a successful operation.

How many years have you been working in the Transportation and Logistics Industry?

I started working for the Transportation and Logistics industry in 1991, when I had a part time job at an import / export Shipping Company while completing my Business Management in Los Angeles, California. 

In 1995 I received the opportunity to join KOG TRANSPORT, INC. (now under new Management as Rhenus Project Logistics, Inc.) in New York.
 
I have been in the industry now for almost 30 years with over 25 spent working with the same organization. I have the pleasure of serving as the President of Rhenus Project Logistics USA with an extraordinary professional team.    

What makes working with such difficult cargo moves rewarding to a Project Forwarder?

The challenge of trying to move a piece of equipment that can not only weigh upwards into the hundreds of tons, but also comes in various shapes and sizes.  

You must think outside the “box” in engineering project cargo movements.

You can think of it in terms of an Orchestra Leader. Each section of the orchestra must play in perfect harmony together in order play the piece of music perfectly. The same goes for Project Cargo movements. Each member of the project team plays an important role in ensuring a positive movement. Our company motto is “Together with Passion”, and this could not be truer when it comes to working with Project Cargo team members. Every decision must be precisely on the mark from beginning to end to ensure the safe and smooth delivery of each piece. Our dedicated project team is always up for each new challenge that comes our way.  

What are the different types of project cargo movements that Rhenus Project Logistics USA has worked on in the past?

We specialize in comprehensive projects that require complex preliminary planning and extraordinary experience.

The scopes of these projects are enormous and they include the following sectors; power plants, mechanical engineering, steel industry, construction, oil, gas and wind power among others.

How did Rhenus Project Logistics, Inc. manage during the COVID-19 Pandemic and was your business affected during this period?

Rhenus Project Logistics USA had a disaster recovery plan in place for such situations as COVID-19. These same measures were utilized during Super Storm Sandy and have been built upon ever since.

All of our employees are set up to work remotely from home. This is a team endeavor and all our employees have participated in ensuring smooth cargo transports for all our customers during this challenging time.  

Due to the hard work and perseverance of our team members, we continued our business of serving our clients needs and were very busy this year with various projects such as emergency transportation of food and water related to the Covid-19 Pandemic, multiple Antonov AN-124 charters, multiple Ocean Vessel Part Charters of project machinery, various heavy lift transports within USA, to name a few. 

Rhenus Project Logistics USA has continued to be on top of their game despite these challenging times.  

Whom do we contact for rates and inquiries?

You can contact Ritesh Nair, who is our Vice President of Operations and Global Sales Director of Projects in New York, and Tomas A. Thelen, who is our Vice President of Operations in Houston. 

Their contact details are as follows:

Ritesh Nair
Vice President New York Operations – Global Sales Director, Projects

Tomas A. Thelen
Vice President Houston Operations