Belgian shipping company expands in Antwerp and Colombia

Conti 7, an Antwerp-based shipping company with heavy involvement in steel, is considering the building of a second warehouse in Colombia, about which it will decide during January. It first revealed plans of establishing a foothold in Colombia to Kallanish two years ago, and completed the building of the first warehouse there in summer 2018.

In the meantime, it established a new warehousing company, Antwerp Railhouse, pegged to begin operations in 2019. Its partners in this are logistics companies Van Dyck and Zuednatie, which both also specialise in break bulk and materials, mainly steel. Antwerp Railhouse covers a water-connected site of 33,000m² with covered rail access. One of two warehouses is dedicated to handling steel plate for one major client.

Conti 7 is a family-owned enterprise founded in 1923, and operating out of three offices globally in Antwerp (headquarters), London and Hong Kong with a staff of over 50 employees. It has a focus on the dry bulk segment, servicing steel mills, raw material producers, agricultural and other commodity traders, or industrial end-users. It handles about 3 million tonnes/year of steel.

On average it operates a fleet of 25 to 35 ships chartered and owned at any time. For specific trades the company has teamed up with partners, and developed joint ventures with GMT Hong Kong, Mitsui OSK Lines, and others.