[Success Case] – Wilson Sons and G2 OCean

A success case is built through trust, proactivity, and a lot of expertise. Get to know the story of the partnership between two of the greats: Wilson Sons and G2 Ocean.

It’s from the old White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Mona Sutphen, that comes the quote that says that “most good relationships are built on mutual trust and respect”. Indispensable elements for the success of any kind of relationship, not only between countries, but also between people, groups and, of course, companies as well.

It’s from those pillars that are also built great corporate partnerships. Long-standing relationships between the providers of services that are complex and deeply demanding. An example is the giants Wilson Sons and G2 Ocean.

The Wilson Sons Agency’s division works with the aim of guaranteeing its clients’ flow of operations doesn’t meet any obstacles. The natural thing, most of the time, is for the client to not even realize the risks the operation faced, because he or she didn’t suffer the impact or had to bother with solving the problem.

Rare are the cases in which clients even have a notion of any operational difficulties. The work of a shipping agency is one of extreme responsibility and it’s done with care. If everything is to function with no great imbalances, the companies need, in fact, to establish a parallel of trust, respect, and transparency in the actions they carry out as part of the partnership.

It was on those bases that the relationship between Wilson Sons and G2 Ocean was born. An example of success that must be known.

A success case with G2 Ocean

G2 Ocean, nowadays based in Norway, is the result of the fusion of GearBulk, funded in 1968, and Grieg Star, which was established in 1884. Today, it works in the operation of the largest open hatch vessel fleet in the world.

Known for its geographical coverage and operational readiness, Wilson Sons serviced both companies before the fusion, in some of the ports they had been acting on since the 90s.

GearBulk, then a specialist on the maritime international transport of forest products, closed a deal with a bleached eucalyptus kraft pulp company to export cellulose to the north of Europe and to the West Coast of the United States.

Owned by the two biggest companies that produce cellulose in Brazil, the port that’s been specializing in shipping cellulose since 1978 is located in Barra do Riacho, in the state of Espírito Santo.

At the beginning of the operations carried out by GearBulk at the port, the Wilson Sons was chosen to service the ships that docked there, while Wilson Sons Towing was responsible for providing tugboats for the berthing of the vessels.

The local movement, not being too intense, allowed Wilson Sons to move its team from Vitória to Barra do Riacho. Its tugboats sailed from the port in the capital of Espírito Santo to perform maneuvers at Portocel.

Despite it being a more expensive operation, Wilson Sons proposed a competitive value to support foreign commerce operations in the region.

More productivity and savings

It’s a part of the job of a shipping agency to become responsible for the productivity of those who hire it. The agency must stay alert to everything that goes on at the port. Thus, it will be able to see solutions as fast as possible.

Wilson Sons goes beyond and becomes interested in the good performance of the market as a whole, valuing the client’s productivity. In several opportunities, in order to favor that matter, the agency helped the GearBulk/G2 Ocean partnership reduce costs.

Recently, at Portocel, during an operation dedicated on supervising the loading of its ships, when the volume of exports dropped down due to the international market and thus the ships’ schedules were reduced, Wilson Sons did not stop working.

A new structure for supervising operations was proposed as a way of reducing fixed costs due to variables. The initiative reaped benefits and the partnership allowed greater economy by schedule.

In another moment, during the move of the shipping agency in Santos, three years ago, GearBulk’s service provider faced difficulties in continuing the work of a shipping agent. So Wilson Sons stepped up and assumed the task and the hiring of workers.

Therefore, the operations didn’t have to be interrupted — and receive compliments from the team to this day.

The client’s testimony

“We, from G2 Ocean, have a partnership relation with Wilson Sons that goes back many years, first through our shareholders at GearBulk, when it operated ships, and then continuing with the new company set up for this activity, G2 Ocean, in May 2017”, recalls Julio Castro, Senior Operations Manager of G2 Ocean.

He says that, during all these years, he has observed great progress in commercial relations. “An evident evolution can be perceived in the maturity with which the toughest cases are treated and, most of all, on the understanding of demands and the quality of the results delivered by Wilson Sons”, adds Castro.

“As our agents in 50% of the ports in which we act on the Brazilian coast — including Santos, our main port —, we have always been able to count on the efficiency, proactivity, and promptness of their staff in every step that requires a shipping agency”, highlights the manager, pointing out one of Wilson Sons’ main values, proactivity.

“Having by our side a company highly renowned by its quality brings about the tranquility needed for us to work in other areas that are important for the development of our business”, a point that is of the utmost relevance to any partnership formed with a shipping agency.

“I have a deep respect for the team captained by Christian”, concludes Castro, mentioning Christian Lachmann, CEO of the Wilson Sons Agency’s division.

In return, Wilson Sons, from the beginning of this successful partnership, is proud to be a part of the history of both companies, now joined together. The greatest advantage of the mutual trust between the companies can be perceived through quick, transparent problem-solving and continuous support.

Balancing the individualized service provided to each client, respecting their particularities, and procedure systematization helps in the formatting of a conciliatory standard. It is a vital need for any shipping agency that plans on standing apart on the market, when dealing with interests that are not only conflicting, but also (and often) situated in diametrically opposite poles.

The Wilson Sons aims to, inside the formal port regulation structures, reach the highest amount of operational versatility as possible.

If you want to know more about the work done by Wilson Sons and about the processes and possibilities of a shipping agency, get in touch.