Two recent developments have strengthened Kuwait-based Public Warehousing Company’s (PWC Group) role as a promoter of industry and business in the region. 

PWC Group’s division PWC Logistics entered into a first-of-its-kind strategic GCC-wide partnership with Dubai-based Tristar Transport that extends the division’s service operations in the petrochemical industry.
In the other development, National Aviation Services, a subsidiary of the PWC group, commenced ground-handling services at Kuwait International Airport. The range of their services under exclusive contract include initiation and maintenance of the ‘Hala Kuwait’ service, the Hala Lounge and various technical services, airline operations and cargo logistics services.

Inking the partnership with Tristar, Essa Al Saleh, PWC Group’s general manager, business development, and Eugene Mayne, chief executive of Tristar, expressed mutual appreciation of how the two companies would complement each other with their unique strengths and common quality business approach.

“Apart from strengthening the PWC Logistics portfolio, our partnership with Tristar will reinforce our position in the ‘fluid logistics’ and ‘wet stock distribution’ sectors, and simultaneously allow us to operate comprehensive supply chain operations within the GCC states,” said Mike Lee, general manager of PWC Logistics, UAE. 

“PWC Logistics brings to us their vast experience in information technology, much needed technical support and expertise, and the capital investment required to develop and realise several untapped market opportunities,” said Mayne.

The PWC Logistics - Tristar partnership will also provide opportunities for maximum customer fulfilment potential, for regional companies in the construction and petrochemical industries. Mayne elaborated that these companies could now look forward to high-compliance road transport and related services, both at intra- and inter-country levels.

Tristar Transport was formed in 1991, and within a short span, achieved leadership in the movement of bulk and packed petroleum products by road within UAE and the GCC. Awards and accolades won by the company include:  Dubai Quality Appreciation Award – 2000; Shell Dubai Best Haulier Award – 2001, Air BP Middle East and South Asia Asset Award - 2002, Air BP Global Award for operational excellence – 2003, and ROSPA (UK) Gold Award – 2003. Tristar was also the first transport company in the ME to be certified for an Integrated Management System: ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:1996 and OHSAS 18001: 1999.

Introducing the Kuwait airport service, Bara’a Al Roumi, managing director, NAS, explained that the company’s credentials and vast experience had paved the path for the private sector to excel in the field of ground handling. “With NAS’ wide range of professional services and well-trained personnel, we aspire to achieve the highest international standards and continue to provide clients with the best services possible, he said.” 
Al Roumi spoke while seeing off the first passengers at the newly revamped Departure Terminal 4 at Kuwait International Airport, together with senior staff and officials from the company and the airport.

“The departure terminal has been equipped to provide best-in-class services to first and business class passengers travelling into, out of or through Kuwait. And our involvement with the airport logistics operations is another significant milestone for the company, as these are crucial assets in a country known as the portal to the Gulf region’s cargo operations,” Al Roumi added. Along with numerous ground-handling services, NAS has delivered a state-of-the-art storage area for cargo, as well as a large fleet of trucks to Kuwait International Airport.

NAS has also recently signed a contract with the Dutch carrier, KLM for catering, ground handling, ticketing, cargo, and first class lounge services. Negotiations are currently underway with other airlines, Al Roumi stated.
PWC Logistics is one of the largest and most sophisticated supply chain management companies in the region, providing solutions to a range of global companies, with an extensive, well-established network across the Middle East, a highly customer-focused team, and ISO 9001: 2000, ISO14001 and OHSAS 18000 certification across all operations.

The company’s business activities encompass areas beyond logistics operations to include value-added services, property-management and revenue-enhancement solutions and customs modernisation.
PWC Logistics’ innovative solution for government customs modernisation, MicroClear, was one of the chief attractions at the ‘IT in Africa Symposium 2003’ held in South Africa in October.    PWC chairman and managing director Tarek Sultan delivered the principal speech and hosted several governmental workshops at the event.

“It is a commendable honour for PWC to have been invited by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) to feature MicroClear at their prestigious annual symposium, for the second year in succession,” stated Mohammed Ghassan Farra, chief information officer, PWC Group.  

“When the PWC Group developed MicroClear in partnership with Microsoft Consulting Services, it was in answer to the inherent need for an end-to-end, robust and globally applicable trade modernisation plan,” Farra explained. “Since then, MicroClear has assisted various countries in modernising, re-engineering, and energising their respective legacy customs clearances and associated trade processes, and our efforts are now accredited and supported by the highest governing body in the world.”  

He also elaborated on why MicroClear was the chief attraction at the WCO symposium: “Customs revenue collection represents a substantial component of any government’s entire revenue base and is often the major contributor to national budgets and economic development. It is deemed necessary therefore to modernise customs operations to the maximum in order to benefit from the latest technology solutions available. MicroClear is the first and only IT solution of its kind, and offers a web-based ‘out of the box’ customs solution with intelligent risk management for advanced decision making, tracking non-compliance and enhancing revenue collection.

“The flexible architecture of the system allows ease of customisation, integration, and process integrity, and MicroClear can also be tailored to accommodate different organisational patterns and differing national customs administrations requirements, while maintaining uniformity and compliance to common international standards. This facilitates communication and data interchange among various customs organisations around the world.”
Over the years it has acquired controlling interests in Inspection and Control Services Company (ICS), the world’s leading provider of destination customs and price-research solutions, and Pricesaroundtheworld.com (PAW), a US-based provider of price-research and classification services for automated decision-support applications.

Representative customers or partners of the PWC Group include McDonalds. Nestle, Exe Technologies, the governments of Dubai, Argentina and Yugoslavia, American Science and Engineering, the SAS Institute and Microsoft Corporation.
PWC was privatised in June, 1997, and has a shareholding base comprising approximately 20,000 investors including prominent private and public sector investors such as the National Real Estate Company (owners of the Free Trade Zone Concession) and the Public Institute for Social Security (the pension arm of the government).