Rodair continues expansion into U.S. and UK markets

Mississauga-based Rodair Group of Companies, is steadily expanding its freight forwarding operations in the U.S. and Europe.

February marks the opening of a new company location in Houston, managed by Paul McCauley. Rodair also operates out of offices in Newark, Phoenix and Miami. Soon to come will be offices in Chicago
and Cleveland. There’s already an office in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In Europe, Bellville Rodair International (UK) Ltd. — a joint venture between Rodair International Ltd. and Bellville International — has offices in London, Budapest and Prague. With the joint venture, Rodair brings Bellville’s experience in the Pan European market, along with international project business — namely large project moves over long periods, such as hydroelectric plants, as well as Pan European surface transport to the fold.

Rodair Group president & CEO Jeff Cullen says the re-branding of Rodair in the U.S. and the UK will create its own identity that will enhance, not detract from, Rodair’s identity in Canada.

“We already have a substantial base of business in the United
States that puts us at an almost-break-even point with all of these
offices, virtually from day one, since we’ve been handling all of that
business from Toronto, using local agents and so on. Our international
partners have been asking us for a good set-up in the US, since they’ve
been looking for someone to hook up with, who isn’t one of the existing
multi-nationals. We’re also looking to develop more trans-border business between Canada and the U.S., but more importantly, this network of offices we’re establishing provides us with stronger bargaining power, and it strengthens our commitments to our client base and our partners.”

In terms of client categories, Cullen says the freight forwarding company will initially continue with what they’ve proven successful with, namely automotive, high tech and high fashion.

“We’ve developed some great programs around those kinds of clients, and we’ll perpetuate some of that in the US. We now also have project specialists in-house so we can go after some large petroleum and power plant projects and so on. Having a corporate office in Newark, which is a major gateway for air and sea, is opportune for the huge New York garment industry. But there’s so much more going on in the U.S., and now we have the infrastructure to be able to go after it. We have warehouse facilities in Newark, Phoenix and Miami, not so much on a logistics/warehousing/distribution level, but more for the in/out handling, the cross-dock operation of handling international air/ocean freight. But if the opportunities arise for the logistics/facility management side of things, we’ll certainly consider it.”