Dear THLG fellow Members,
Another year has gone by. Commitments were made, projects were executed, and challenges were overcome. Even with its adversities, I believe it’s fair to say this one was much better than 2020, both personally and professionally, and I am positive many great things are yet to come. As the year ends, so does its last quarter — let’s have ourselves a nice wrap-up, shall we?
In September, we were well represented by Rhenus Projects (USA), Antonov Airlines (Ukraine), Barnhart (USA), and Khimji Ramdas (Oman) at Breakbulk Americas, in Houston. We all know how important it is to have a strong presence at such events, not only individually to the companies each one of us represents, but also as a powerful, cooperative Group. Cheers to our attendees!
Another amazing opportunity to broaden our knowledge and bond was our panel, “Let’s Socialize”. We drank negronis with Siddique Khan from Globalink in October, in the following month we had fun the old-fashioned way with Eduard Dubbers-Albrecht and Tarik Boukercha from Ipsen Logistics, and in December it was time for Carsten Schröter from Rhenus Projects Logistics to host, serving black tea with rock candy and fresh cream. Proof that moments of relaxation are as productive as invaluable.
A Group is all about its Members, and two of our own have had recent achievements at HLPFI Readers’ Vote Awards 2021 that are worth mentioning. And the winners are Almajdouie Logistics (Saudi Arabia), with the Photo of the Year: Overland, and Khimji Ramdas (Oman), with the Video of the Year. Congratulations!
I also want to take this moment to thank you all as you stay patient while our ExCom puts together a financial plan for the next years. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to meet in person yet, but we are arranging for a meeting to happen in order to present you with this year’s numbers and propose a strategy for the future at our next conference, at the latest.
THLG has grown in the last quarter. On one hand, we had our 5th Online Conference, which only goes to show how good we’ve gotten at virtual events and just how beneficial to business getting together can be. The hope remains that we’ll be able to meet in person soon but, while that doesn’t happen, our on-screen Fall Conference was exceptional. On the other hand, we welcomed five new Members from around the world: Shodesh Shipping & Logistic Company (Bangladesh), Nakama Worldwide Solutions (Panama), Tecniproject (Chile), Rhenus Logistics (Thailand), and KBB Transport (Canada).
Our app was also part of this growth. The development stage was finalized, and it is currently being tested so that it can be available for all users at the beginning of 2022, along with a promotional campaign. THLG 365 will be a program with centralized information at our fingertips, facilitating communication in more ways than one. We are still going to have WeChat and WhatsApp, but this will be a space for debates, polls, events, groups, sponsorship opportunities and more, without having to go all the way to our website to be in touch with each other and the world.
And my personal wish for the following years is that we continue to grow and evolve in every way possible. It’s been a tough couple of years for all of us. There was undeniable progress with the vaccination in a lot of countries, but many are still struggling, and we have to put our heads together to make things better. After all, if there’s one thing we’ve learned with the Covid crisis, it’s that together we are stronger.
In that spirit, I must say it has been an honor to serve the Group as President, especially alongside our ExCom’s awesome Members, professionals and individuals: Blanca, Johann, Elisabeth, Alessio, Colin, Natalya, Jos, Maria, and Andreas. Thank you all for trusting me with such an important job, and let’s never forget the #PowerInUnity!
May this New Year continue bringing more beneficial business to all of us and strengthening the bond of mutual respect that we have for each other.
Happy Holidays and stay safe,
Murilo Caldana
President and Business Development Officer