Our new office at Velperweg

Movement to Velperweg

After eight years working in our old office at the Eusebiusbuitensingel 3, we have moved to a new location in Arnhem, at the Velperweg 82. HEC-Holland has grown rapidly in these past eight years. At the previous location there was no more space for all of us to work, which is why this is the perfect moment for us to move to a brand new and modern office. After a lot of (re)building activities and preparations the last few weeks, we have moved on the 29th of April and started working in our new “home” on the 2nd of May.

Our new office

Our new office is designed by an interior designer and will have a modern look and feel. There are two state of the art meeting rooms, with the highest of standard in technology. Furthermore, HEC-Holland has invested in every way possible to improve the working environment of its employees and to stimulate their health. This for example by using high quality office chairs and electronic adjustable desks, to be able to stand during their work.

This office really invites clients, supplier, partners and other relations to come to Arnhem for a meeting. It is without saying that you are welcome to visit us and have a formal or informal chat with a great cup of coffee.

    

The maximum of aluminum

Mica tapes

Aluminum prices keep on rising, aluminum isn’t available, aluminum stocks have fallen to critical levels” just a handful of headlines out of the news from the past year. Due to a broad variety of reasons the prices of all raw materials, including aluminum keep on rising and availability is getting less. Of course, the wire and cable market is seeing the disadvantages of these developments.

Right at the start of this situation, HEC saw an opportunity instead of a threat. HEC Shanghai Office kept on building the relationship with our aluminum supplier, which has been leading to ongoing supplies for a good price. In the same time, our supplier has been looking into their supply chain. They made sure the supply chain was optimized for a solid corporation with HEC-Holland.

This collaboration, combined with the ability to slit aluminum tapes in The Netherlands (after the purchase of an aluminum cutter last year), made HEC-Holland a stable factor in the market.

Currently, HEC is still able to supplier her customer which is something we are very proud of.

In the future, we will keep collaborating with our partners to be able to deliver the best quality, for the best price in any market situation. In this way, we are sure we won’t let our customers down.

Curious about opportunities for your company? Don’t hesitate to contact your account manager

Suez Canal – Global supply chain impact

Evergreen Suez Canal

Global supply chain impact is caused by imbalance in available freight space and equipment.

The supply chain consequences of the Suez Canal blockade in March will be clearly felt in the coming months. In our operations this will mostly affect the operational activities and pricing for the coming period. Where there were hopes for more stability, prices in container shipping are still sky-high. Also the tariff levels may reach new record highs as of May 1. We continue to be confronted with limitations and delays due to blank sailings, equipment shortages and congested ports worldwide.

Partly because of the aforementioned congestion in the Suez Canal, we are also seeing extra pressure in the availability of containers and the spot market. The shortage of ship space and containers will largely persist this year, resulting in high transport rates and operational restrictions. This is predicted by a maritime research firm Drewry in its latest report about developments in the container market. The prospects also note that there will be considerably more orders for the construction of new ships. There are 1.77 million TEU across 166 ships ordered in Q1 only. However, whether this capacity expansion will eventually lead to the extremely low rates of few years ago seems unlikely, according to Drewry.

Our advices to prevent possible inconveniences in your supply chain 

We would like to advise you to pay attention to matters listed below in order to limit any nuisance and to anticipate the aforementioned market situation:

  • We recommend booking your shipments well in advance. This enables us to provide you with the best possible arrangements.
  • Prioritize the most critical shipments as capacity is scarce and we face constraints and delays.
  • Include longer lead times in your supply chain calculations. Keep in mind that the average delay is currently almost 7 days.

The aforementioned challenging and volatile market situation puts a lot of pressure on our operation. Therefore, we must continue to emphasize that the options are limited and ask you to continue to take into account possible delays in the coming period.

We are here for you

We at HEC-Holland do everything we can to continue to serve you optimally and to keep any inconvenience to a minimum. Please feel free to consult your account manager and ask for our possibilities and solutions. We will also keep you updated related to this theme and future developments. 

If any questions arise, please also get in contact with our team!

HEC-Holland LinkedIn