Varamar Group

VARAMAR

GROUP

THE SECRET TO PROJECT FLEXIBILITY AND AGILITY

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SECRE T PROJECT FLEXIBILITY AGILITY TO THE AND

Thanks to visionary leadership and a flexible business strategy, Varamar Group has enjoyed constant growth, with its Canadian office being the latest fruit of its hard work. But while its new office in Vancouver joins Varamar’s impressive and expanding global network of offices, the company hasn’t lost sight of the boutique-style service that continues to drive its success. Varamar Canada’s Director, Andrii Bondarenko, gave Richard Hagan an insight into the company’s unique customer service approach.

Varamar Group is an international project cargo carrier, specialising in the worldwide shipping of project, heavylift and breakbulk cargo. Alexander Varvarenko established the company in 2009 in Odesa, Ukraine, in a small office staffed by four people.

Varamar’s initial efforts revolved around a small trade of projects from the Black Sea to the Persian Gulf, a route which remains popular to this day. But the business got a major boost when Mr Varvarenko signed a contract to deliver equipment on a monthly basis from Romania to South Korea. Varamar’s handling of those relationships and this route proved to be so successful that the company has now established its Europe to Asia route as its backbone, ‘bread and butter’ business.

A dominant European network

Today, Varamar’s network of offices spans several countries and regions, with facilities in Vancouver, Hamburg, Genoa, Antwerp,

Shanghai, Ukraine and others. A Houston office is planned for opening in late 2023.

Before Feb 2022, Varamar’s operational headquarters was in Odessa, with the commercial headquarters situated in Antwerp. But due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Varamar has had to react, protecting not only its business, but most importantly, its people.

“We had over 50 people in Odessa. When the invasion happened, our group organised transportation, and moved the Ukrainian staff and their families to other offices worldwide – mostly in Europe,” explained Varamar’s Director Andrii Bondarenko.

“It was a very hectic seven days when all of the moving started happening. But this highlights the company’s respect and support towards the staff we cherish. We try to keep the company mid-size specifically to maintain that personal relationship; we know the names of our staff’s families, which is important to us.”

Varamar offers its customers what it describes as boutique-style customer service and as Mr Bondarenko pointed out, it’s all about putting the customer’s specific needs first.

“I believe that it’s easy to sell freight but it’s difficult to sell ocean transportation solutions as we do,” he said. “For example, if you go to a very large shipping company, you’ll find that they are very qualified, experienced and smart, but they don’t have time to spend on customer service;

to talk with the customer and really understand how best to solve his problem.

“When customers come to Varamar, they receive a tailor-made solution,” he added.

The company prides itself on its ability to find creative, cost-saving solutions to customers’ shipping needs. This may, for

VARAMAR GROUP I PROFILE

example, involve using its fleet of shallowdraught vessels to collect or deliver cargo closer to its source/destination by navigating rivers or small ports that larger ships can’t reach, thus reducing the customer’s overall transport and insurance costs by eliminating road or rail transportation legs between major nodes.

“By learning where exactly the cargo is going to or coming from, you can solve the customer’s transportation needs at a lower cost,” Mr Bondarenko reiterated. “It’s eyeopening for the customer. This is what our boutique service is all about.”

Financial flexibility all in the fleet

Varamar’s highly flexible fleet arrangements are a key foundation of the company’s trademark flexibility in delivering customercentric solutions.

Its fleet will have grown to 20 by the end of 2022. All of these vessels are either on long-term charter to Varamar or under its commercial management. “This is a fleet size that we are comfortable in our ability to handle very well,” Mr Bondarenko noted.

The company’s approach to strategic growth is building a perfect mix between a time-chartered, commercially managed and, in the future, owned fleet. This mix should enable Varamar to remain flexible in the service offered to clients, as well as

on pricing. On the other hand, it should be the right approach to remain strong regardless of the market conditions.

Heading north

Having developed a considerable footprint in Europe in the years following its establishment, Varamar decided to tackle the North American market and consequently opened its Vancouver office in 2019. “Opening the Vancouver office gave us an opportunity to do business with a whole new market,” said Mr Bondarenko. “The clients we’ve spoken to thus far are very open to working with us; there’s definitely

an appetite for new players within the market. The incredible support we’ve received so far from the local Canadian community is evidence of that.”

The Vancouver office has seen the development of an impressive amount of business for Varamar, with routes bringing exported goods from Asia to the United States in particular but also to Europe and Africa. The US market is expected to be a star performer for Varamar in the coming years, as Mr Bondarenko revealed. “By the beginning of 2023, we expect that our trade route between Europe and North America will be our most profitable.”

Conveyor cargo and other highlights

Varamar Shipping has been involved in some exciting projects and Mr Bondarenko was keen to highlight two of them, beginning with a stadium-sized project in the Middle East in which Varamar carried 75% of the structures required for the World Cup Stadium in Qatar.

Another major cargo highlight came in the form of a massive structure that Varamar shipped across to Westfield World Trade Centre in New York City. Both visitors and Mr Bondarenko described the gargantuan structure, which has to be seen to be believed for its size to be appreciated, as looking almost like a giant dinosaur skeleton.

As interesting as both of those were, neither bore the complexity or impressive scale of a project Varamar completed for a German client exporting cargo to the Port of Kamsar in Guinea, West Africa. “The client was exporting a Bauxite conveyor

belt to Kamsar, with about 40,000 tons of equipment coming from China,” he explained. “The customer initially wanted to deliver the cargo between main ports using big bulk carriers. The customer had calculated that the project would take nine to ten months to deliver all of the cargo and for the port to build the conveyor belt.

“At that point, we came into the project,” he continued. “We suggested that the cargo should be delivered directly to the site where the cargo is needed. They told us that that would be impossible due to the shallow draught of the port. That sounded like a challenge to us,” he said with a grin.

Varamar’s team of specialists immediately got onto the case. They contacted the local ports, and then they identified and located the right vessels for the project. With the port’s assistance, they developed a docking plan and the project swung into action. “We put three or four vessels into China, each carrying 10,000 freight tons to this small berth in Kamsar, Guinea,” he recalled. “Ultimately, we delivered the cargo within three months instead of nine. We were the only company at the time who entered the bidding process having first developed a direct delivery service plan.

“This project proved once again that we have the time to listen to the customer and provide the right solution for them,” he emphasised.

A winning team with no limits

Looking towards the future, Mr Bondarenko was excited by the potential that his Canadian office had already demonstrated and he looked forward to what they would achieve together in the coming years.

“The team that I work with is exceptional and I really love them,” he declared. “I’m also excited by the market that we’re in. We’re carrying project cargo, not bulk, so every shipment is different and every customer has their own story to tell. Our job is to listen and give them the right solution. Our huge customer retention numbers are ”90 proof that our approach is bearing fruit and delivering.

“Thanks to our owner’s vision, the company’s structured in such a way that senior management has a lot of authority within the group,” he said in conclusion. “I have no limits and so I’m open to any business development opportunity, for any sort of cargo and all possibilities. If you’re not limited, you’re not bored!”