Ship supply business constantly evolving as shipping becomes more and more technology-driven

Being the first company to offer transit warehousing to the Turkish market, Atlas International Shipchandling & Trading, is operating for more than 30 years in one of the most important sectors of the shipping industry, the one of ship supply. Atlas, a company founded by managing director George Saris and his colleagues, currently offers a 3,500 square meter

warehouse and cold storage plant offering a large availability of product including multiethnic provisions as well as deck and engine, cabin stores, suppliers of various spare parts in connection with worldwide manufacturers’ stockiest and trading houses.
According to Mr. Sarris, Turkey is a developing economy and there is much capacity to be utilized, “therefore we believe the demand for trade and eventually for shipping will grow in line with this development” he says in an interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide.

First of all, could you give us some information on your company’s profile and its activities?

Atlas International Shipchandling & Trading was founded in 1979 by its managing director George Saris and his colleagues at a time when there were very few companies in Turkey working in ship supply. Faced at the time with the challenges of operating in a not fully-established industry and continuously acting as a pioneer for developing and structuring the ship supply business in Turkey, Atlas was the first company to introduce transit warehousing to the Turkish market. As a result, it was instrumental in helping to institutionalize the Turkish ship supply industry.

What kind of services does the company provide?

Atlas currently boasts a 3,500 square meter warehouse and cold storage plant offering a large availability of product including multiethnic provisions as well as deck and engine, cabin stores, suppliers of various spare parts in connection with worldwide manufacturers’ stockiest and trading houses.
In addition we apply custom clearance and spare parts logistics services to our customers.
We do our best for realizing completed services to our customers all the time.

As ship technologies evolve, how do you think future demand for ships supplies will shape?

As years pass and ship technologies and market conditions change, ship supply is getting more and more sophisticated than is use to be. Our customers demand more technical expertise and product knowledge and we always try to maintain this information to satisfy them.

What plans do you have towards expanding your portfolio of products/services offered?

We work in an industry that is constantly changing therefore to make the life of our clients easier we have to be always looking for improvements both in terms of product verity and service.

Are you considering growing your company either locally or internationally, by expanding your business to other ports of the region as well?

Recently we have expanded our activities to cover worldwide supply services to our respected clients. By using our 32 years’ experience and our network of elected international suppliers we can provide our clients full ship supply services with reliable quality even in the most remote ports of the globe.

Which are you main clients and markets?

We serve to all kind of vessels including bulk carriers, tankers, LNG, LPG vessels, Offshore platforms, Offshore supply vessels, cruise ships and Navy ships.

Why did you choose to establish your business in Turkey?

Turley is a unique geographical location. Particularly Istanbul Straits where our head office and warehouse is located is very convenient supply hub for transiting vessels. We can supply vessels in slow streaming without causing any extra delay to vessels, before or after Bosporus and Dardanelle strait passage. This saves significant time and money to our client.

How did 2010 turn out in terms of business growth and sales?

2010 was a modest year. With expectations already lowered after the crises we can say that we are not disappointed. With freight rates fluctuating around operating cost for most of the shipping segments there is a strong emphasize on decreasing cost and we have to be competitive at all times particularly in today’s tight conditions.

Do you see Turkey moving forward in terms of a regional transshipment hub, which would bring even more vessel calls at the country’s biggest ports?

Turkey is a developing economy and there is much capacity to be utilized, therefore we believe the demand for trade and eventually for shipping will grow in line with this development.

What about port infrastructure in the country? Are ports moving towards expansion and modernization or are things stagnant?

In the recent years many ports have been privatized in Turkey. This trend attracted significant investment in port infrastructure and maintenance. Considering also the increasing competition between ports in the region in order to attract traffic flow, is constantly urging port operators to increase efficiency and service quality by investing more on infrastructure and terminals.

Nikos Roussanoglou, Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide