The worldwide reputation of the port of Rotterdam has played a key role in the development of Ciparo BV – a company whose primary goal is to feed China’s already massive but still-growing appetite for raw materials. And according to Managing Director Joris de Caluwé, Ciparo’s success also reflects the Port’s willingness to assist companies of any size ‘and not just the big guys’.
Ciparo BV (a contraction of the words China Paper Rotterdam) is the European purchasing and logistics office of Hong Kong based Aim Reclaim Ltd. The organization, which operates as Golden Windmill in the Chinese market, traces its roots back to the early 1990s when Dutch entrepreneur Thijs Cox began researching business opportunities in China.
In 1992, an agency was established in Beijing for selling secondary raw materials which specialized in the import of recovered 
paper form Europe. A second office was set up at the port of Tianjin in 1995 and this was followed in 1997 by the opening of an office base in Rotterdam. ‘Once we had set up in Rotterdam, we realized that the real action in China was happening in Shanghai and so we set up an office there in 1999,’ explains Mr De Caluwé. Two years later, the current make-up of the organization was completed with the unveiling of an office in Guangzhou. ‘It is always difficult to talk about one market in China,’ he notes. ‘Our advantage is that we now have four offices so we can assess where the best market lies.’
Range of exports
Ciparo BV now exports around 200,000 tons of material to China each year, comprising mainly recovered paper but also pulp products, rejected paper reels for converting, and plastics scrap. Furthermore, Ciparo has become the Chinese agent for one of the best-known names in recovered paper processing equipment, Bollegraaf Recycling Machinery of Appingedam in The Netherlands. Materials are shipped in containers from a number of European ports but Rotterdam represents the main hub of Ciparo’s activities.
Not only does the company run its principal European office from the city, but it also operates warehousing facilities in the port area. ‘In 1997, we were free to set up anywhere but, internationally, Rotterdam is the port,’ says Mr De Caluwé. ‘Everywhere you go in the world, everybody has heard of Rotterdam.’ Furthermore, the port offers links not only to the main ports of China but ‘unlimited’ options to some of the smaller ports, which in many instances, are located close to where the pulp, paper and plastics are destined to be processed into new products. ‘All the main shipping and container operations come through Rotterdam,’ notes Mr De Caluwé. ‘This gives us a lot of choice and helps us to get the lowest price in combination with the best service. Also, we don’t have to specify a port in China which means we have greater flexibility and can avoid port congestion.’
‘For the city of Rotterdam, China is next door.’
Pre-Inspection bonus
Not only does Rotterdam accommodate more and larger vessels, it offers excellent road and river links to other countries in Western Europe, such as Germany, from where the company obtains a significant proportion of its raw materials ready for transfer into sea-going vessels. And since all recovered paper and plastics bound for China must first undergo pre-inspection, the presence of a CCIC pre-inspection office in Rotterdam itself ‘simplifies this matter for us’, according to Mr De Caluwé.
The Port of Rotterdam is also likely to be a major factor in the further development of Ciparo BV. ‘Organic growth is difficult for us and so we want to link up with American companies who are looking to get involved in the Chinese market,’ he explains. ‘The Rotterdam link is very attractive to them because everybody knows Rotterdam.’ Development of close relations between the Port of Rotterdam an officials at the major Chinese ports, notably Shanghai, have helped to smooth freight movements between the two and even to throw up useful contracts for Ciparo. Such familiarity leads Mr De Caluwé to declare: ‘For the city of Rotterdam, China is next door.’
Port of Rotterdam
(Recyling Special), November 2004