The Andinave Group is Ecuador’s largest integrated bulk cargo logistics operator and a vital pillar of the nation’s economy. With nine companies under its umbrella, Andinave manages a seamless port-to-client system that is the envy of South America’s west coast. Andinave’s CEO Alfredo Ochoa spoke to Andy Probert about the company’s emergence as an industry-leading innovator.
The Andinave Group has evolved from a shipowner and shipping agency to a fully integrated logistics platform.
Located in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest port and economic capital, the Andinave Group has a formidable structure of companies that offer comprehensive, integrated logistics solutions for maritime, port, transport and warehousing services.
“Andinave started its history with two general cargo vessels and has grown over the last four decades to become one of the most important logistics groups in Ecuador, employing 400 people and a key partner to our nation’s food and feed industries,” CEO Mr Alfredo Ochoa said.
End-to-end logistics
The parent company’s Andilogistics entity oversees the country’s only complete supply chain of integrated logistics for bulk cargo from port to client’s warehouses without needing third-party operators.
Andilogistics receives the cargoes at its terminals, unloads and carries them via land transport to its extra-port warehouses, and then takes the products to its clients’ plants. As freight forwarders, it also handles sea and air shipments through its NVOCC, Pacificlink.
“We are constantly evolving, offering services tailored to each commodity, ensuring efficient and timely delivery,”
ANDINAVE
said Mr Ochoa. The new integrative commitment enables it to mobilise a capacity of 6 million tonnes annually, 225,000sqm of storage space and 760,000 metric tonnes of bulk cargo storage.
Since 1983, the Andinave shipping agency has thrived as a leader in its sector, offering port agency services to all Ecuadorian ports.
At the group’s operational heart is Andipuerto. Since 1998, this concessionary company has run the largest dry bulk terminal in Ecuador for the Port Authority of Guayaquil on a 25-year tenure.
The 13-hectare terminal has one berth to support incoming ships up to 210m in length. The port handles upwards of 2.6 million tonnes of bulk and multipurpose cargo annually, 60% of which are agri-bulk products, 20% mineral products and the rest being general cargo. It also has a total storage capacity of 360,000 tonnes.
“Guayaquil receives 90 per cent of Ecuador’s sea-borne trade, excluding oil and gas, so Andipuerto represents a fundamental pillar of the group,” said Mr Ochoa. “We are vital in providing agriproducts to the shrimp industry, with 67 per cent of imports into Guayaquil arriving f or local clients.”
Under its Andigrain banner, the company provides port machinery for efficient operation at Guayaquil. It owns 60 units, including forklifts, tractors, front loaders, excavators, platforms and specialised bulk handling grabs.
Convector is another important segment of the chain. Its modern fleet of 50 trucks transports more than one million tonnes of bulk cargo annually from the port to the industry at large.
Located within the main port and logistics campus of Guayaquil, Andinave’s
Cargomar component operates multimodal facilities consisting of a container concession yard with an area of 20,000sqm and bulk warehouses with an area of 8,000sqm, with a total storage capacity of 32,000 tonnes.
Due to the limitations of the Guayaquil port, Andinave has invested heavily in recent years in establishing a vast complex of storage facilities in the city of Durán, where most of the mills in the agricultural industry operate. Its TLD-Durán operation consists of 18 horizontal warehouses and
s even silos for agricultural bulks, with a total storage capacity of 160,000 tonnes.
Andinave also owns the Ecuabulk river port terminal on the Guayas River, 5km south of Guayaquil. Established as Ecuador’s first bulk terminal in 1951, it expanded its wharf in 2019, providing greater competitiveness to the agriproductive and industrial sectors through innovative integral logistic services. It now operates a berth for ships up to 200m and has storage capacity of around 200,000 tonnes.
Pacificlink completes the operation, providing sea and air transport services, both for import/export, and for cargoes of all sizes and scope.
Business growth
“With dry bulk storage totalling 700,000plus tonnes and able to mobilise six million tonnes annually, we have become a leader in the market and an integral partner to our nation’s industry players,” Mr Ochoa continued. “Andilogistics focuses on integrating the best practices of port and extra-port activities to ensure excellent quality movement of bulk cargo for clients.
“It is a solution that simplifies the logistics process; a model built on efficiency and safety. There is no similar comparison in the country.”
Since its launch last year, Andilogistics has become a major part of the supply chain. As a platform, it enables clients
to order and efficiently receive tonnes of dry cargo from Andinave’s storage facilities daily.
Andinave is also proud to have developed software tools that seek to provide answers to clients and ship owners.
“We have developed the AndiApp that enables clients to track every grain of their cargo and improves operational efficiency,” said Mr Ochoa. “Clients can review the inventories of their cargo stored in our terminals in real-time.”
The company also has an IT tool that enables ship owners worldwide to discover fixed prices for chartering and delivering cargo into Guayaquil port.
“It is one of the first online tools in the industry for ship owners and clients, and helps ensure a smooth supply chain experience,” Mr Ochoa explained. “This approach has enabled the company and i ts clients to grow significantly. Being closely
located to them has enabled Andinave to maintain excellent relations and to be agile and flexible in meeting their needs.”
Andipuerto Guayaquil is also the first Ecuadorian port terminal to achieve EcoPorts PERS certification, the only port sector-specific environmental management standard. Andipuerto and five other companies under Andinave were among 100 companies to adhere to the Ecuador Zero Carbon Programme driven by the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition National Department of Ecuador.
Plans for the future
Mr Ochoa confirmed the company’s ongoing plans to maximise the potential of Guayaquil port terminal. Providing the highest quality treatment to each vessel serviced at the terminal has achieved an annual rating of 99.60% in customer satisfaction.
Andinave also wants to grow further, with proposals to extend its existing dock, build a second dock at Guayaquil and expand its warehousing operations.
“We plan to invest in sustaine growth,” said Mr Ochoa, in conclusion. “There is always room to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and offer a better service. That means continuing to be a valued supplier to Ecuador’s food and feed industries.
“If we don’t keep pace, then our clients will not grow, and their mills could be compromised. It is imperative that as partners, we think for the long term, and our customers and suppliers are always at the top of our minds.
“With drive, focus and timely investment, Andinave will continue to strengthen all the links in its supply chain and underpin Ecuador’s economy with a value-added approach.” n
