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All of the best for 2007! |
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As it is the beginning of a new year, my
colleagues
and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones happiness, prosperity and good health for 2007.
Alain Taïeb
Chairman |
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Let's build a future together |
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AGS prides itself on being able to identify the individuals who want to make a contribution to its future. In this edition of the newsletter, we would like to talk about the career of Raphaël Baptista, which has been exemplary since Raphaël joined the AGS group as a VIE (international intern) in 1999. |
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Raphaël worked as a sales representative in Mozambique at the time when our branch was being set up, and started working on a client database as soon as he arrived. Up until the end of summer 2003, Raphaël worked as Deputy Branch Manager and contributed to the development of our presence in Mozambique.
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During the course of 2003, for personal reasons, Raphaël left the group to join a different company in Paris. Because of the way he still kept in touch with his old colleagues at the AGS group’s head office, and because of his repeated, friendly phone calls, we eventually discussed a challenge that we had in Botswana with him. We thought that the position there could be an opportunity for him, and so Raphaël joined the Group again, accepting this new mission enthusiastically and without any arguments. In under a year, he had successfully transformed the branch. |
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At the end of 2006, Raphaël was promoted to the Group’s management structure to work on three important files for the Group, and we wish him the same success with his new responsibilities.
It has alway been AGS's policy to develop young professionals. The Group is constantly aware of the career development of our people, and we always like to draw attention to each person’s merits. |
Christophe Mordelet
Human Resources Director |
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AGS Budapest sponsors a football team |
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Every year since 2001, a football tournament in Budapest, Hungary has given football aficionados of all nationalities the opportunity to get together and swap stories on the football field. |
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This championship ( World Cup Magyarorszag ) was started in 2001 by English-speaking expatriates in Hungary, working for companies like MBIS, Sanmina SCI, and SCA Packaging. The enthusiasm surrounding the event has led to more than twenty teams in the twelve seasons. Players from more than 30 countries on five continents lend a strong international flavour to the competition. |
The AGS team is managed by François Clément, sales manager at AGS Budapest, and is made up of diplomats, soldiers, CEOs, and expatriates of many nationalities (Moroccan, Algerian, Congolese, Peruvian, French, Italian, Hungarian, German, Belgian and Irish).
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The movers of AGS Budapest also enjoy playing, and being part of the football team allows them more contact with expatriates and to get a different idea of their client base, outside of a work environment.
Every weekend, the players on the team get together for a good time and to be part of this winning team. |
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New road link in West Africa |
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AGS Senegal has blazed a trail for moves by road between Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso. |
Nestlé Senegal recently implemented a relocation project to Burkina Faso, and entrusted the moves of three of their executives from Dakar to Ouagadougou to AGS Frasers. Originally, it had been planned to ship the goods by sea, but because the transit time would have been too great, Nestlé suggested performing the moves by road, using the transport company they normally use to transport their materials between Senegal and Burkina Faso. |
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Despite the fact that the Group had never attempted long-distance moves by road in West Africa before, the Dakar branch seized the opportunity to innovate.
Jean-Noël Boulnois, branch manager, and Astou Camara from the exports department co-ordinated the operation with Frédéric Léomant from the Burkina Faso branch, and the move was sent by convoy of three trucks.
All the insurance and customs issues were anticipated and planned for. The goods arrived at their destination with minimal damage, and three weeks sooner than would have been the case by sea.
The success of this operation means that the AGS Group is now able to implement a safe, fast and competitive road freight service in West Africa.
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This road network will link the branches in Dakar, Bamako, Ougadougou and eventually Lomé, and will ensure a steady stream of new clients owing to the savings in time and especially money that road transport offers compared to shipping. Congratulations to all concerned on their initiative and skill!
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AGS Four Winds Singapore and AGS Four Winds Hong Kong achieve FAIM certification |
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Congratulations to AGS Four Winds Singapore and AGS Four Winds Hong Kong for having recently achieved their FIDI-FAIM certification, the highest moving industry standard available in the world. Both branches have been certified for four years which is a great achievement, as this is the first time that they have been audited.
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FIDI awards four-year accreditations in cases where the company’s operational processes and quality management system are of an exceptionally high standard. The Singapore branch was able to achieve their certification without factual findings, which means full marks on the test! The Group aims to increase the number of FIDI FAIM affiliates every year, and to date 25 of our branches are certified. |
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Achieving certification is challenging, since each branch is required to adhere to a range of on-site conformity procedures including criteria such as environmental policy, staff knowledge and training, quality management, insurance and risk management, facilities equipment and materials, customer feedback, legal compliance, financial security, stability and documentation. |
On behalf of the entire Group, congratulations to the first of our Asian branches to achieve FAIM accreditation, less than two years after becoming part of the AGS Group! |
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New management team announced for AGS Four Winds London |
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The AGS Group is delighted to announce two new appointments at AGS Four Winds London. Stephen Gray will be taking over from Roger Aiken as chief executive officer and Johan Fourie, former manager of AGS Madrid, has newly been appointed as administration and finance manager. |
Roger, who left AGS Four Winds in December 2006, joined the Group as manager of AGS London in 2002 and plans to continue his 23-year career in international moving. We would like to thank him for the outstanding job he did in London and wish him all the best and great success in the future.
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Stephen Gray will bring a great deal of experience to his role as CEO. Stephen has been working for a reputable international moving company in the UK for the last ten years, and as their head of UK Operations, he was responsible for all onsite activities. Thanks to his many years in a managerial position, Stephen appreciates the importance the high levels of customer service we strive for. |
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| Stephen will be assisted in the management of the London branch by Johan Fourie, who will bring to London the expertise in administration, finance and IT that he gained as manager of AGS Madrid, and by Beverly McMahon, who is in charge of the export-import department and of AGS Four Winds London’s agent-to-agent policy.
Since 1991, AGS Four Winds London has grown from strength to strength, building consistently on its successes, and has been ISO 9001:2000 and FAIM certified for a number of years. Of particular note is the fact that the branch has held the U.S. Embassy contract for just over a year now. One of the targets which has been set by Alain Taïeb, Group Chairman, is for Stephen to make AGS Four Winds London one of the key branches in the AGS Group. We have an enormous amount of faith in the new London management team and is confident that the branch will continue to deliver excellent levels of service to customers and agents alike. |
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