Ocean Gate in Voka magazine

Ocean Gate Logistics is a freight transport intermediary. "We are 'transport architects' who design global logistics flows: the best solution to get goods from point a to point b. All along that route, we also take care of any problems that may arise. We specialise in imports and exports to Asia, among others, mainly food products, but also non-food products that have to be transported under specific conditions. In terms of imports - with China being the 'factory of the world' - you name it, we ship it, from foodstuffs to semi-finished products to steel products. Our customers are also worldwide, with an emphasis on Belgium and our neighbouring countries."

Sea lock

Over the past 18 years, the company grew from one man to a team of eight, and operations are also running well. But the arrival of the new sea lock near the Zeebrugge Coastal Avenue office brought headaches involved. "We have not been expropriated, but we know that there is lobbying to perhaps widen that zone in the future. That is why we anticipated, also because in the wider area of Bruges it is not obvious to buy an office. We recently moved from the old mansion in Zeebrugge to a completely new office on Pathoekeweg in Bruges, which is a much more efficient, fun and hipper place to come to work." 

"The branding was also tackled with a new logo and a new website. We wanted to make a fresh impression again. Towards our customers, but that modern look is also important to attract young talent. I believe you can only continue to exist and grow if you really take your human capital into account. That is why we are also fine-tuning our HR policy by, for instance, holding more frequent growth interviews with our people.
This has already led to fantastic results, such as which tasks energise someone and which ones do not. By rearranging tasks afterwards, everyone has started to function even better. We also regularly evaluate and provide internal training to keep our people at a high level. From the survey we conducted among our customers as part of the rebranding, we learned that this high level of expertise ensures a service that they feel is far above average."

His 50th birthday last year also made Hendrik Vermeulen take stock. "My children are still young 20s, so we'll see if they ever play a role in the business. But a strategy is needed anyway on how to make Ocean Gate Logistics future-proof. The move, rebranding and stronger hr approach are crucial in that, but I also allow myself to be better surrounded now than before. So I set up an advisory board to help think about that longer term, we have consultants assisting us for hr and we have an accountant-tax specialist looking over our shoulder."

Indexing requires growth

"Our market is very volatile at the moment. The great post-corona investment and consumption boom is over and geopolitical tensions have kept commodities expensive but transportation rates are historically low due to lower demand. Fortunately, we made our mark in the food market and people continue to eat. We also developed new specialities such as project cargo shipping: shipping entire factories to another country or continent."
"What does worry me is wage indexation. A good thing for short-term purchasing power, but if you operate internationally you have to compete against competitors from other countries and you get
a competitive disadvantage at some point. That cost increase forces your company to keep growing, even if the economy is in a slump. But that is also entrepreneurship: constantly encountering obstacles on your course and each time looking with your team how to go over, around or under that obstacle. After all this time, every new challenge is something 'that keeps me moving'."