History
Internationalisation
In the eighties and the early nineties Ahlers faced the challenges of a changing world economy by broadening its horizon. The acquisition of Ghent-based De Baerdemaecker was an inroad into commodity logistics and warehousing. A new warehouse was setup in the Ghent area. Early 2007 a new office was opened in Rotterdam in order to strenghten our already strong position in the Benelux as international forwarder in the trade from and to the Far East, India and CIS.
Changes in Eastern Europe were considered opportunities to set up offices in Russia and Latvia and later on in different CIS-states; first in the ports and later inland as far as Central Asia. The construction of a large warehouse in St. Petersburg made Ahlers a strong player in the Russian market at the beginning of the 21st century.
Ahlers built its presence in Asia, starting from a joint venture in 1993 with the Shanghai Port Authority towards a network of own offices in China, India, Indonesia as well as a presence in Singapore and Vietnam.Today Ahlers is well established player in the international forwarding industry in the Far East and Indian Subcontinent.
Ship management activities changed focus due to the decline of the Belgian shipyard industry to specialised niches (chemical tankers and off-shore), and complemented their services with training and security.
The traditional shipping agents activity in the Port of Antwerp has expanded to new markets, first in the Baltic Sea and since the beginning of the 21st century to Asia.
Entrepreneurial spirit & innovation
 Christian Leysen |
