Why Portmade chose surety bonds from Euler Hermes

With over one million transactions a year and a presence in the three largest ports in the Benelux, Portmade is a major player in the world of customs activities and logistics. It currently offers an all-round customer service to support logistics service providers: shipping lines, terminal operators, freight forwarders, industry players, etc. The company focuses strongly on the digitisation and automation of declaration flows.

“All our activities are bond-related”, explained Guio Veraart, Portmade’s Director. “This requires a relatively large surety package, with the necessary flexibility. We found that flexibility at Euler Hermes.”

Finding the right surety partner did not happen overnight. “We compared the offers of various partners, including our bank. Euler Hermes topped our shortlist from the outset and eventually came out as the winner,” said Guio. “Ultimately, the best value for-money tilted the scales in their favour, along with their extensive expertise in customs matters. And whenever they face difficult issues, they can also rely on the financial strength and know-how of Allianz, their parent company. We find that reassuring.”

Surety bonds  are an essential part of a customs agent’s business. They guarantee the logistic flow of the supply chain. “We expect a surety bond provider to actively look for solutions with us to make this process run as smoothly as possible. Euler Hermes works with the customer to find the best solution and then has the capacity to implement it without impacting business operations,” said Guio.

Portmade’s surety package represents a total of nine letters of guarantee to the government. “The Euler Hermes system offers enough scope for us to easily change the amounts of the surety bonds,” explained Guio.

This flexibility was an important argument in deciding to work with the trade credit insurer. As Guio remarked: “In an operational environment, it is not always easy to react quickly. Euler Hermes understands this and gives us the time we need to prepare specific administrative documents.”

Guio does not regret making this choice. “Our surety bonds are in good hands with Euler Hermes. The company boasts a colossal amount of drive and perseverance. Euler Hermes offers us the – great – quality of service we expect from a surety provider.”