The port of Antwerp has appointed a new representative for the markets in Austria and Hungary. With immediate effect Walter Holzhammer is inc harge of the marketing of both the location and the services in the Belgian seaport. The new port representative has many years of experience in the transport and logistics sector. He has held senior positions at companies like Hapag Lloyd, UPS and Gefco in the past. “Connecting the port of Antwerp to Austria and Hungary is ideal by any means of transport because of the relatively short distance involved. Using my expertise as a logistics specialist and the network of important market players in both countries, I plan to develop the multimodal links to hinterland destinations and therefore continue to reinforce the competitive position of the port of Antwerp,” says Holzhammer, announcing his plans.
The port of Antwerp plays a significant role for import and export activities of Austrian and Eastern European industries. Main types of cargo shipped via Antwerp are, for example, steel, machines, cranes, railway wagons and wind generators, chemical and petrochemical products, containers as well as goods for the automobile industry. Important European inland terminals like Duisburg, Ludwigshafen, Regensburg and Basel can all be reached by inland waterway vessels. The Austrian inland waterway ports at Linz, Enns, Krems and Vienna can be accessed via the river Danube.
There are efficient railway connections between the port of Antwerp and Austria – for example, a direct rail service with five round trips per week on the Antwerp-Linz corridor, three direct weekly round trips between Antwerp and Vienna and three indirect connections (via Duisburg). Starting mid-May, the cities of Wels and Graz will be connected to Antwerp.
Hungary offers huge potential for the port of Antwerp as well. In addition to improving the existing rail connections, the Antwerp Port Authority is actively supporting the development of new, direct rail links with Budapest.
In 2016 the port of Antwerp handled a total of 214.06 million tonnes of goods. The Belgian port has about 60,000 employees.
