Herman Andersson Oy
International transportation and forwarding enterprise through dozens of ports
When anyone unfamiliar with the business enquires what Herman Andersson does,
the easiest answer would be anything that is done in ports and in international
transportation companies. The activities include unloading and stowing containers
into ships, storing goods, taking care of the paperwork of international business
and fulfilling the customer's specific transportation requirements. Co-operation
with the City of Oulu is clear, the port is in charge of strategies and policy
alignments, Herman Andersson is responsible for the carrying out the day-to-day
work. Most of the people working in the port are employed by the company.
The increasingly growing container traffic has been a part of Herman Andersson's
business from 1995.
-In networked business, the creation of functioning transportation and forwarding
enterprise is very important to us. Creating transportation and forwarding enterprise
means that Herman Andersson in cooperation with its partners can carry through
the transportation to the end point chosen by the customer. Co-operation with
bigger and smaller transportation companies has always been a part of our daily
work, for despite who does the main leg of transportation, the biggest containers
and pallets are nearly always transported through the port, CEO Matti Larkomaa
describes the ideas behind the business..
Functions like a great, modern factory
- The romantic visions of port workers remain only in old films. Craftsmanship and manual labour have disappeared, and have been replaced by machines and their professional operatives. Trained machine operatives use techniques employed in today's great, modern factories, only the work environment is not enclosed by four walls, Larkomaa comments on common conceptions.
- The influence of the port on the Oulu community is nowadays less, for the
port (as the large factories) is for the most part hidden from the public. The
arrival and departure of ships are no longer public events. The upside is the
more peaceful working environment, the downside the lack of knowledge of the importance
of the port and the wide range of shipping connections, describes unit manager
Tauno Palomaa the background to the imagery.
Spools of paper are Oulu's most international export item. Tons of them are
sent around the world almost daily. .
- Few in Oulu, for example, know that Oritkari port alone is visited annually by 350 ships from twenty or so different countries. Most of the traffic is scheduled transport, but every now and then import and export ships arrive on a so-called spontaneous schedule, Parviainen continues.
- We, as professionals more generally, have our own benchmarks on efficiency and sensible modes of action. Ship handling is efficient in Oulu, and the port has gained a reputation for efficiency around the world, Larkomaa explains, conveying thoughts back to reality.
The faithful servant of the forestry industry
Herman Andersson is tightly connected to the forestry industry. The forestry companies Stora Enso and UPM Kymmene own the company and their strategic movements define the company's future. Changes are not likely to happen unexpectedly, for Herman Andersson has weathered economic storms already for a hundred years.
The container lift from Germany will soon have company. The lift is owned by
the port of Oulu, but it is mostly operated and used by people from Herman Andersson.
- Forestry companies calculate carefully, which route is the most profitable. For the time being, to our profit, they have preferred sea routes. In the competition over freights, what matters most is money, Tauno Parviainen describes the importance of his proprietors, and continues.
- Our latest great loss was the decision of UPM to transfer the Kajaani factory's traffic to be conducted through the Rauma port.
Technology and other development trends
The Oulu port uses top equipment particularly with regard to information processing. When a forklift with a pallet load drives through a gate with a bar code reader, information is relayed quickly and reliably to the controllable information system. When the mass of primary goods is great, the functioning information processing system is under immense pressure. For example, a pallet ordered from the USA by a publisher has to be found from within hundreds of containers and spools of paper.
Container traffic is becoming increasingly common in sea transportation. As
an additional service, increasingly tailored unit transportations are on their
way
- Automated stowing systems are becoming more widely used. Increasingly goods are handled so that individual units can be transferred forward as quickly as possible, CEO Larkomaa describes the future and points to other futuristic visions.
- If transportation in the Kuola area develops, it means further development for us. In addition, we sea transporters naturally hope that land transportation would use the port and did not drive back and forth through Helsinki. It is clear that the ship frequency to Central Europe will grow. Moreover, container traffic will grow too. In the future, containers will be transported to their destination without unloading along the way.
After a small pause for thought the CEO continues to create visions.
-More and more special ships arrive, so that even the more demanding transportations
can be achieved also through sea routes. Naturally, the Oulu port and its services
will develop. Oritkari has great potential to grow and to function as the focal
point of logistics, in which the advantages of road, rail and sea transport are
combined.
Stories abound and goods are moved
- Our employees watched with wonder when flashy cars began to arrive from Germany. There were rumours of Mafia involvement until the police set a trap and the story came to a close. If the documentation is in order, we cannot respond to whether the activity is illegal or not, Parviainen reminisces. .
CEO Matti Larkomaa and area manager Tauno Parviainen believe in the critical
mass and flexibility of the 100-year-old Herman Andersson in the international
logistics business.
Forwarding skills are kept up to date with the handling of heavy spools of paper and with light field exercises. - A hat merchant imports fashion items from Italy, and we take care of the paperwork, Tauno Parviainen summarises the discussion with the grasp of a true salesman.
- Goods are transported profitably, flexibly and securely on the sea. From
the port they are transported to the customer's door anywhere in the world. A
ship is always a strong and often superior form of transport, in which containers
and unit shipments enable modern and tailored transportation for businesses of
all sizes.
Additional information:
Herman Andersson
Poikkimaantie 12, , P.O. Box 37, 90401 Oulu
Telephone. +358 8 315 0100, fax +358 8 371 743
www.hermanandersson.fi
