\n
\nPara un peque\u00f1o agente de carga estadounidense, Chile ha desempe\u00f1ado un rol clave en ayudar a crear un nicho en una industria tradicionalmente dominada por grandes actores internacionales.<\/B><\/I> <\/p>\n
David Holst, el due\u00f1o y fundador de Access Freight Forwarders, un agente de carga y corredor de importaciones de Carolina del Sur, no tiene dudas respecto de la importancia de Chile para el desarrollo de su compa\u00f1\u00eda. No s\u00f3lo permiti\u00f3 que su negocio tuviera un r\u00e1pido avance, sino que Holst espera adem\u00e1s que siga desempe\u00f1ando un rol clave en su actual crecimiento.<\/p>\n
Una de las primeras cuentas de Access Freight fue la de la firma U.S. Lumber Group, distribuidor de materiales de construcci\u00f3n de Atlanta, para sus importaciones de productos de madera desde Chile. \u201cMe dieron una oportunidad\u201d, dice Holst. \u201cPara m\u00ed era enorme; a lo mejor nunca hubi\u00e9ramos despegado de no haber sido por esa cuenta\u201d. <\/p>\n
Cada semana, U.S. Lumber importa al menos media docena de contenedores de molduras de madera, desde Chile a puertos de todo Estados Unidos. Proporcionadas por Arauco y CMPC, las principales compa\u00f1\u00edas forestales de Chile, las molduras se venden en grandes tiendas de herramientas para ser usadas tanto en paredes como en puertas y muebles.<\/p>\n
Otra cuenta significativa para la empresa -que representa unos diez contenedores mensuales- es el embarque de canastos de alambre y madera que la tejana Pleasant Trading compra a Noramco, empresa chilena. Access Freight dispone el transporte de estos canastos plegables -empleados en la cosecha de fruta- hacia Nueva Jersey, Miami y Port Everglades. <\/p>\n
En total, Access Freight ahora maneja media docena de embarques por semana desde el Puerto de San Antonio en Chile, hasta destinos a lo largo de Estados Unidos. Y la empresa est\u00e1 ansiosa por aumentar su operaci\u00f3n chilena, ampli\u00e1ndose de la actual predominancia de los productos de madera hacia otras \u00e1reas, tales como las exportaciones de vino.<\/p>\n
Con esto en mente, David Holst viaj\u00f3 a Chile en mayo del 2005 como parte de una misi\u00f3n de Carolina del Sur, respaldada por el programa TradeRoots de la C\u00e1mara de Comercio de Estados Unidos. A trav\u00e9s de alianzas con c\u00e1maras de comercio locales, este programa de educaci\u00f3n comercial busca -entre sus principales objetivos- ayudar a las peque\u00f1as empresas estadounidenses a penetrar nuevos mercados en el extranjero y Carolina del Sur es uno de los ocho estados de EE.UU. que se beneficia con un programa de desarrollo de exportaciones, en el cual TradeRoots est\u00e1 asociado al Departamento de Comercio de Estados Unidos. <\/p>\n
Durante su visita, Holst visit\u00f3 el Puerto de San Antonio, que lo impresion\u00f3, y pudo sostener reuniones y analizar las instalaciones. \u201cEl viaje fue valioso e informativo, y tuve varias reuniones buenas\u201d, se\u00f1ala. \u201cAhora quisiera hacer visitas regularmente\u201d.<\/p>\n
En el marco de su visita, Holst tambi\u00e9n pudo reunirse con exportadores de vino y, aunque a\u00fan debe asegurar un contrato, sigue optimista. \u201cHe aprendido que las cosas en Chile no pasan directamente y que un \u2018s\u00ed\u2019 puede significar \u2018vamos a pensarlo\u201d, admite.<\/p>\n
Una de las cosas que impresion\u00f3 a Holst durante su visita a Chile fue la cantidad de personas con las que se reuni\u00f3 que hablaban ingl\u00e9s. \u201cNo hablo castellano y el 95% de la gente con que me reun\u00ed hablaba ingl\u00e9s bastante bien; no fue dif\u00edcil comunicarme\u201d, recuerda. <\/p>\n
Adem\u00e1s se form\u00f3 una impresi\u00f3n relativamente positiva de la burocracia chilena, compar\u00e1ndola de manera favorable con la de Brasil, donde, seg\u00fan \u00e9l, \u201cuna palabra mal escrita puede causar grandes problemas y costar mucho dinero\u201d. Dijo tambi\u00e9n que sus negocios se hab\u00edan visto beneficiados por las reducciones arancelarias introducidas por el Tratado de Libre Comercio de Chile y Estados Unidos, que entr\u00f3 en vigencia en enero del 2004. <\/p>\n
PERSPECTIVAS DE CRECIMIENTO<\/B><\/font><\/p>\n Holst trabaj\u00f3 en el negocio de agente de carga durante ocho a\u00f1os antes de decidirse a comenzar su propia compa\u00f1\u00eda en 1999. \u201cPude ver que \u00e9ste era un campo que iba a crecer\u201d, explica. <\/p>\n \u201cEl mundo se estaba achicando y s\u00f3lo era posible que el comercio internacional creciera\u201d, afirma. \u201cVea a Carolina del Sur: los municipios locales est\u00e1n promoviendo el comercio; el Departamento de Comercio de Estados Unidos organiza seminarios sobre el tema\u201d.<\/p>\n Y el desarrollo de nueva tecnolog\u00eda ha abierto oportunidades para los actores m\u00e1s peque\u00f1os. Hoy en d\u00eda, Access Freight puede recibir la carga electr\u00f3nicamente en cualquier Puerto de desembarque, sea \u00e9ste Charleston, Los \u00c1ngeles, Seattle o Houston, sin necesidad de tener oficinas locales. \u201cHace apenas cinco a\u00f1os, si hubiera querido recibir un embarque en Los \u00c1ngeles, habr\u00eda tenido que contar con una oficina ah\u00ed\u201d.<\/p>\n Holst adem\u00e1s identific\u00f3 un nicho en el mercado de manejo de carga, que confiaba pod\u00eda explotar. \u201cMuchos de los agentes de carga tienen su sede en Europa\u201d, explica. \u201cSon empresas enormes y a menudo no les interesa para nada un negocio que no implique el embarque de miles de contenedores por mes\u201d. <\/p>\n Y, a\u00f1ade, una empresa peque\u00f1a puede ofrecer un servicio m\u00e1s personalizado. \u00c9sa fue una de las razones, recuerda, por la que su compa\u00f1\u00eda obtuvo la cuenta de U.S. Lumber Group, que sent\u00eda que no recib\u00eda el servicio que quer\u00eda de un agente de carga grande.<\/p>\n \u201cYo quer\u00eda ser lo suficientemente flexible para ayudar a quienes hac\u00edan sus primeras importaciones y exportaciones: tener tiempo para responder consultas de clientes que, por ejemplo, podr\u00edan estar nerviosos sobre la entrega de un primer embarque\u201d, afirma.<\/p>\n Un ejemplo de este servicio m\u00e1s personalizado es la negativa de Holst a instalar una contestadora telef\u00f3nica autom\u00e1tica, a trav\u00e9s de la cual quien llame tenga que navegar. \u201cSiempre tendremos a alguien que conteste el tel\u00e9fono\u201d, asegura.<\/p>\n Adem\u00e1s ofrece a los clientes un punto de contacto, con una sola persona a cargo del embarque de punta a cabo. Esto difiere de lo que \u00e9l denomina el \u201cenfoque de l\u00ednea de ensamblaje\u201d que tienen algunos de sus rivales. <\/p>\n Hoy en d\u00eda, adem\u00e1s de sus operaciones en Chile, Access Freight importa abetos desde Finlandia, aditivos para alimentos desde Holanda, cargadores turbo desde India y granito desde Brasil. Pero, pese a su diversificaci\u00f3n, Chile sigue ocupando un lugar importante en su agenda de crecimiento. David Holst, the owner founder of Access Freight Forwarders, a South Carolina-based import brokerage and freight forwarder, has no doubt as to the importance of Chile for his company\u2019s development. Not only did it give the business an early breakthrough, it will also, Holst hopes, continue to play a key role in its ongoing growth.<\/p>\n One of Access Freight\u2019s first accounts was with U.S. Lumber Group, an Atlanta-based distributor of building materials, for its imports of wood products from Chile. \u201cThey gave me a chance,\u201d says Holst. \u201cIt was huge for me; we might never have gotten off the ground without that account.\u201d <\/p>\n Each week, U.S. Lumber imports at least half a dozen containers of wood moldings from Chile to ports throughout the United States. Supplied by Arauco and CMPC, Chile\u2019s leading forestry companies, the moldings are sold in big hardware stores to be used on walls as well as for doors and furniture. <\/p>\n Another significant account for the company – amounting to some ten containers a month – is the shipment of wood and wire baskets acquired from Noramco, a Chilean company, by Texas-based Pleasant Trading. Access Freight arranges the transport of these folding baskets – used in fruit-picking – to New Jersey, Miami and Port Everglades. <\/p>\n In all, Access Freight now manages half a dozen shipments a week from Chile\u2019s port of San Antonio to destinations throughout the United States. And the company is eager to increase its Chilean business, expanding from the present predominance of wood products into other areas, such as wine exports.<\/p>\n With this in mind, David Holst traveled to Chile in May 2005 as part of a mission from South Carolina, supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce\u2019s TradeRoots program. Through partnerships with local Chambers of Commerce, this trade education program seeks – among its main objectives – to help small U.S. businesses penetrate new overseas markets, and South Carolina is one of eight U.S. states to benefit from an export development program, in which TradeRoots is partnered by the U.S. Department of Commerce. <\/p>\n During the visit, Holst visited and was impressed by the San Antonio port and was able to meet people there and assess facilities. \u201cThe trip was worthwhile and informative and I had a lot of good meetings,\u201d he says. \u201cI would hope to make regular visits now.\u201d<\/p>\n During his visit, Holst was also able to meet with wine exporters and, although he has yet to clinch a contract, he remains upbeat. \u201cI have learned that things don\u2019t happen straightaway in Chile, and \u2018yes\u2019 can mean \u2018we\u2019ll think about it,\u201d he admits.<\/p>\n One of the things that impressed Holst during his visit to Chile was the number of people he met who spoke English. \u201cI don\u2019t speak Spanish and 95% of the people I met spoke English pretty well; it was not hard for me to communicate,\u201d he recalls. <\/p>\n He also formed a relatively positive impression of Chilean bureaucracy, comparing it favorably to Brazil where, he says, \u201cone misspelled word can cause big problems and cost a lot of money\u201d. His business has also, he reports, benefited from the tariff reductions introduced by the Chile-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which came into force in January 2004. <\/p>\n GROWTH PROSPECTS<\/B><\/font><\/p>\n Holst worked in the freight forwarding business for eight years before deciding to start his own company in 1999. \u201cI could see this was a field that was going to grow,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n \u201cThe world was getting smaller and international trade was only likely to increase,\u201d he says. \u201cTake South Carolina – the local municipalities are promoting trade, the U.S. Department of Commerce holds seminars on it.\u201d <\/p>\n And the development of new technology has opened up opportunities for smaller players. Nowadays, Access Freight is able to clear cargo electronically at any port of discharge, be it Charleston, Los Angeles, Seattle or Houston, without requiring local offices. \u201cJust five years ago, if I had wanted to clear a shipment in Los Angeles, I would have had to have an office there.\u201d<\/p>\n Holst also identified a niche in the freight forwarding market, which he was confident he could exploit. \u201cMany of the freight forwarders are based in Europe,\u201d he explains. \u201cThey are huge companies and often not all that interested in business that does not involve shipping thousands of containers a month.\u201d <\/p>\n And, he adds, a small company can offer a more personalized service. That was, he recalls, one of the reasons his company won its account with U.S. Lumber Group, which felt that it was not getting the service it wanted from a big freight forwarder.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to be flexible enough to help first-time importers and exporters – to have time to answer questions, for instance from customers who might be nervous about a first shipment going through,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n One example of this more personalized service is Holst\u2019s refusal to install an automated telephone answering device through which callers have to navigate. \u201cWe are always going to have someone to answer the telephone,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n He also offers customers one point of contact, with a single person dealing with the shipment from start to finish. This differs from what he calls the \u201cassembly line approach\u201d of some rivals. <\/p>\n Today, as well as its business in Chile, Access Freight imports spruce from Finland, food additives from the Netherlands, turbo chargers from India and granite from Brazil. But, despite this diversification, Chile still remains high on its growth agenda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Para un peque\u00f1o agente de carga estadounidense, Chile ha desempe\u00f1ado un rol clave en ayudar a crear un nicho en una industria tradicionalmente dominada por grandes actores internacionales.For a small U.S. freight forwarder, Chile has played a key role in helping to carve out a niche in an industry traditionally dominated by large international players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","news_tax":[],"user_type":[],"class_list":["post-3629","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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\nFor a small U.S. freight forwarder, Chile has played a key role in helping to carve out a niche in an industry traditionally dominated by large international players.<\/B><\/I> <\/p>\n