"I t takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently." - Warren Buffett.
Building a reputation is thus one of the most difficult as well as significant tasks where many entrepreneurs fail to sustain. Journeying through every thick and thin, Late Keki Byram Cooper proved himself to be an excellent entrepreneur whose successful career in the shipping industry helped him to establish his own company and gain experience in Shipping, International Representation, Wellness, and Hospitality.
He gained immense recognition in his illustrious career as the Trustee of the Kandla Port Trust, the Member of The Ports Advisory Committee for The Gujarat Maritime Board, the President of Kandla Steamship Agents Association and the Vice President of Kandla Stevedores Association.
He promoted Amfico Agencies Pvt Ltd, a 5-decade old company using his vast experience. Amfico’s Liquid Logistics journey began by representing UK’s largest privately-owned logistics company Suttons International which is now steered over the last decade by his son and Managing Director Farhad K. Cooper.
Amfico’s role in the liquid logistics industry
MNCs and Local Conglomerates across the globe are opting for bulk liquid logistics in tank containers / flexi-bags for international and domestic use. India in this aspect is slowly increasing its appetite for both the formats and new chemical facilities are thus being designed specially to handle these equipment’s. The liquid logistics industry has been steadily maturing and in the last couple of years looking at the growth of the industry, stakeholders such as cleaning / M&R depots, cleaning & ETP equipment suppliers, chemical suppliers (for the Depot and ETP), surveyors, spare part supply companies, ancillary service providers (i.e outsourced drumming facilities) and trucking companies, who work dedicatedly to support this industry are now offering a consistent supply of high-quality equipment, products and services.
Amfico has created a niche for itself by catering to these needs, all under one roof. It is an All-India Representative of selected prestigious International Companies with a focus on liquid logistics, for whom it provides an array of services, products, and business solutions giving them a smooth entry into the lucrative Indian markets and ensuring that their products reap rich dividends. Amfico’s business is currently spanned across three verticals namely Services, Trading and ALLHUB.
Services
Under this vertical, Amfico handles Domestic and International Tank Container Operations as well as Flexibags.
International Tank Container Operations – Amfico has managed to consistently satisfy the industry by supplying high-quality service to its customers with its well-trained team and tanks from one of the top operators in the world, Suttons International - UK. Suttons owns and operates a large fleet of T11 (24kl – 26kl) & Baffle Tanks. They also are known for specials including T14/T20 (Lined tanks) as well as T50 (Gas Tanks). “We have contracts with shipping lines, forwarders and hence have managed to retain some of our oldest customers and our first customer is still one of our regular shippers,” Farhad adds.
As a practice, Suttons annually infuses new tanks into the system and discards or refurbishes a part of its old fleet keeping safety its priority. Further investments go into specialist equipment such as Heated/ Reefer tanks with GPS trackers. “It has been two decades since we have successfully represented Suttons International exclusively in India, and probably the oldest agents for them,” Farhad Cooper confirms.
Domestic Tanks – Amfico has employed a fleet of domesticated tank containers for the purpose of localized movements and for storage within the country for the chemical Industry.
Flexibag Operations – Amfico represents Infinity Bulk Liquid Solutions a Malaysian flexibag manufacturer and operator for the past eight years, and here too it has a strong market
presence. “We import, stock, transport, customs clear, handle freight and fit the flexibags for our customers as per their requirement. We have an experienced team of Commandos who travel across the country to help customers load their precious cargoes into our bags at their factories.” Cooper explains.
Trading
Under this Vertical, Amfico has an exclusivity with a number of manufacturers for their range of products that cover Tank Spares, Warehousing, and Liquid Dispensing.
Tank spares:- high quality spares for the tank container industry
• Girard Equipment – USA – Stainless Steel Valves
• Sunpass – China – Seals and Gaskets
• VSP Technologies – USA – Seals and Gaskets
• ZS FRP – China – Insulation and Cladding
• Groninger Cleaning Systems - The Netherlands – Cleaning
Systems and Chemicals
Warehousing Products:- For Protection Of Cargo And Equipments
• Boplan – Belgium – Safety Materials
• Zerpo – China – Dunnage Air Bags
Liquid Dispensing:- For the wellness & hospitality industry
• Puresan – UK - Sanitisation
• Ultimate Dispenser – UK –Portion Dispensers
Our goal is to be a forward and backward integrated company for the liquid logistics industry. At present, there are multiple projects and strategies in the pipeline and we look forward to maintaining our first mover advantage by introducing new and innovative products in this segment
All Hub
Amfico’s passion for the Liquid Logistic Industry has driven the company to invest in ALLHUB the multifaceted depot in Jasai at Nhava Sheva. ALLHUB – (Amfico Liquid Logistic Hub) is a vertical of Amfico, developed to establish a One Stop Shop for the Tank Container, Flexibag, Road Tanker, Small Packaging Industry, providing safe and efficient liquid logistic service solutions to its customers under one roof. The depot has a number of firsts under its belt. ALL HUB represents innovative international product and service companies that are ahead of their time for the Indian market. Focusing on the vision to enhance the experience for Indian and International tank container operators and chemical manufacturers having exposure to the Indian market. Most of these products are inter-related to the liquid logistics industry.
The Activities At All Hub Include:-
• Anti-Corrosive Coatings for The Liquid Bulk Industry:– The sole applicator in India, and one of the four applicators in the world, to coat tank containers and storage tanks with Chemline from Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC) - USA
• Fire Proofing:– One of the few applicators of Chartek in India, manufactured by Akzo Noble for the application of fire protection (PFP) coatings for onshore, offshore and commercial buildings. Currently, Amfico’s teams are completing a refinery project.
• Cleaning:– Drive through depot, with a No Man Entry Policy, Rotor Jet Driven System using Steam & Hot Water along with Water Based Chemicals. This facility also handles Refurbishment, Maintenance & Repairs for ISO TANKS, Road Tankers, and IBC.
• Bulk Liquid Transfer facility for Viscous and Corrosive Cargoes:- Using a high capacity, PTFE lined, Stainless Steel, AODD Pumps for transfers from ISO Tank to ISO Tank/Flexi/ Road Tanker or vice versa at a high transfer rate.
• Top-of-the-line IBC / Drum Filling Palletized Facility:- for Foaming, Charged, Hazardous, Corrosive & Viscous Cargoes. It also has a facility for direct purging of nitrogen in drums and IBC’s.
• Fleet of 20’ & 40’ Trailers:- To transport containerized equipment
• Application of Heat Tracing Cables and GPS Tracking Devices:- on Transport Equipment
• Gasket Manufacturing Facility
Innovation @ Amfico
Digitization and innovation are the way ahead for Amfico. Capitalizing on this, Amfico has introduced to its Indian customers a revolutionary product based on blockchain technology Bulkvision – Germany, as well as SAVVY -Switzerland an IOT based solution, for Track and Trace for Transportable equipment including Tank Containers, Rail wagons etc. While offering the bouquet of services and products, Amfico’s management picks its technology partners with the prime purpose of being interconnected with the liquid bulk industry. However, the expansion for each vertical i.e. Services, Trading and ALLHUB has a huge scope independently, as well as in conjunction with each other within the current location as well as geographically.
Armed with a strong technical team of well-experienced officers, engineers as well as several consultants the company is efficient to handle any critical situation. At present, there are multiple projects and strategies in the pipeline, and every year we aim to roll a few strategically. One of our special projects is ‘Re-cycling’. Our team of engineers at our depot has been empowered to work towards recycling all waste materials generated from the depot; this would also include steam condensate, water from effluent treatment, etc.
Another feather in the cap for Amfico has been setting up India’s first drive through bay for tank container cleaning along with Steam, Hot water and Water based chemical in order to display the operations of the Groninger Cleaning Systems.
As part of safety in the field of logistics, one of the innovative products that Amfico represents is elasticized polymer barriers with memory is Boplan from Belgium for chemical warehousing protection, where cargoes may be corrosive or in cold chain processes.
Amfico’s constant strive for introducing new quality products to its portfolio in the liquid logistics industry has led to its steady growth and has recognized it as an industry leader.
As quoted by the Managing Director FarhadK Cooper, “Our goal is to be a forward and backward integrated company for the liquid logistics industry. At present, there are multiple projects and strategies in the pipeline and we look forward to maintaining our first mover advantage by introducing new and innovative products in this segment”.
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