DCT Gdansk appoints new CEO

Boris Wenzel has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Polish container terminal operator DCT Gdansk SA. He succeeds Colin Chanter, who continues as chairman of the board of management.

Mr Wenzel brings to DCT Gdansk a wealth of port industry experience with a strong financial and business development bias. Educated in France, Mr Wenzel spent his very early career in Barcelona, New York and London before joining a leading Thai investment bank in 1995.

His introduction to the port industry came when, in 1999, he joined Eastern Sea Laem Chabang Container Terminal, one of several terminal operators in the new Thai port of Laem Chabang, as General Manager. Successive promotions saw him appointed President and CEO in 2002.

From Laem Chabang, he moved to PSA International in 2003 and had key roles in the international expansion programme of PSA including projects in Turkey, India, Belgium and Portugal.

This appointment comes at an important moment as DCT Gdansk grows and considers future expansion.

At the same time, Danuta Bilat, formerly commercial manager, takes on the wider role of sales and marketing manager. This newly-created position reinforces DCT's intent to increase volumes moving through the terminal.

Prior to joining DCT Gdansk in 2007, Mrs Bilat worked for the Port of Gdansk and has extensive contacts within the local and international shipping communities. A graduate of the University of Gdansk, she joined the port authority in 1995 and worked in various positions connected with marketing, the last being as Head of the Shipping Development and Tariffs Department where she cooperated with shipowners, shippers and logistics providers, mainly on the development of container, ro - ro, car and cruise traffic.

Board director Derek Peters will remain as senior marketing adviser to the new CEO and the responsibility for all day to day management of the company remains with General Manager Fred Kamperman.

With these key management changes, Mr Wenzel states that DCT Gdansk is now in a much better position to develop:

"We now have the necessary local and international experience to push harder for new business. We can proceed with confidence to build better relations with forwarding agents, who have significant control over cargo routing, and to develop closer links with the major carriers. We believe that both our local and transhipment traffic will grow at a considerable rate during the next three to five years. DCT is ready to meet this challenge".

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Note to editors:

Now fully operational, DCT Gdansk comprises a 36 hectare container terminal capable of handling 500,000TEU per annum and a roll-on roll-off (ro-ro) berth adding an extra 160,000 freight units of capacity. The terminal's 650m long quay is served by three post-Panamax ship-to-shore cranes and five rubber-tyred gantry cranes, and offers 16.5m water depth alongside. With tried-and-tested road and rail connections linking the facility to major inland distribution centres throughout Poland and its neighbouring countries, DCT Gdansk offers a new dimension in container port operations.

A second phase of development will be brought online according to demand, ultimately increasing the terminal's capacity to one million TEU per annum. Planning is also well advanced for a major logistics park to be constructed close to the DCT Gdansk facility.