HONG Kong-based LCL consolidation specialist Charter Link Logistics group has opened an Australia office in Melbourne. The company has plans to rapidly expand across Australia.

Charter Link Australia managing director Gavin Armstrong told DCN the company aims to expand to nationally in the next six to 12 months.

“We’ll be branching into the export market further down the track with a national presence in all states to serve the Australian freight forwarding community,” he said.

Mr Armstrong said operations at the Australian branch has been ramping up over the past few weeks.

“Our first containers are soon to be on the water out of China,” he said.

“So far we’ve had a great reception and we’re very pleased with the progress to date.”

The company said it would bring 25 weekly scheduled LCL consolidation services to Australian destinations, and it will progressively phase in further Asian and international origins.

Mr Armstrong said, “We are excited to provide the Australian forwarding industry with much needed additional sailings and frequency, along with the digital capabilities and user experience that has helped establish CTL as leading neutral LCL consolidator”.

Charter Link chairman Benny Chan said China and Australia’s bilateral relationship is based on strong economic ties and established community links.

“China accounts for nearly one-third of Australia’s global trade and is among the leading countries for foreign direct investment,” he said.

“We are proud to establish ourselves in Australia to reflect its significance to the group.”

Charter Link executive director Michael C. Tsui said, “I am delighted to help bring CTL to Australia. The company’s growth has been phenomenal despite the pandemic and related adversities. CTL now has over 40 international offices and has a strong foothold in key global markets such as India, US, and LATAM”.

Charter Link Logistics has recently opened two offices in Spain, in Barcelona and Valencia. It has also recently attained ISO 9001:2015 (QMS) & ISO 27001:2013 (Information Security) accreditation at its corporate headquarters.

The company said it aims to be well-positioned to capture further growth opportunities in the post-COVID market environment.

Charter Link employs more than 1400 staff in 40 offices, supported by more than 200 network partners.