“We entered the Thai market in 1998 with a focus on the petrochemicals industry,” says Anton Colpaert, President & CEO of Katoen Natie Services (Thailand). “We’ve been able to invest and grow every year since then, building our own terminals and installations. We’ve also diversified our services and the products that we handle. Now, Thailand is one of our main hubs in Asia.”

Thailand is also the testbed for the company’s push towards digitalization. The company is trialing automation and AI-driven solutions at its terminal in Rayong. Those include automated reception desks that would enable truck drivers to check themselves in as well as digital documentation that would reduce the margin of error and improve safety, accuracy and quality in its warehouses.

That push comes amid unprecedented disruption for the trade and logistics industries. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the global flow of goods to a standstill earlier this year, raising questions about the fragility of supply chains. Yet, Katoen Natie Services (Thailand) remains both resilient and optimistic.

“We were able to adapt to the situation immediately and make sure that our ICT infrastructure was in place,” Anton says. “Our people have also adapted and taken this onto themselves. They understand the importance of acting quickly, so we’ve been able to serve our customers throughout ASEAN in a safe and effective way and we remain optimistic going forward.”