A.S. Shipping benefits from winds of change

Shri Prakash is a visionary who has overseen the steady expansion of A.S. Shipping Agencies to make it one of India's largest shipping agencies, with an extensive domestic and international network.

Prakash, who has 60 years of experience in the shipping industry, pioneered the concept of the one-stop shop for export-import services at a time when India was new to the idea of "total logistic solutions".

Based in eastern India's Chennai, A.S. Shipping Agencies has offices in every port in the country, from Kolkata in the northeast, Cochin in the southwest, Kandla in the northwest, Tuticorin in the southeast and Mumbai in the west.

Its other businesses include break-bulk shipping, container freight stations (CFS), granite depots and handling yards, which are among the largest in Asia.

"We handle about 80,000 tons of granite from Chennai and Vizag ports for shipment to the Chinese ports of Shanghai, Qingdao, Hong Kong, Shantou and Xiamen," Prakash said.

"A.S. Shipping Agencies' links with China in the granite sector are very close and are growing every day," added the shipping executive, explaining the impact of growing trade between India and China on his business.

Currently, A.S. Shipping Agencies handles 80 percent of granite exports bound for China.

Due to increasing business with China, A.S. Shipping Agencies foresees exponential growth of its granite depots. It plans to manufacture and install more gantry cranes to double its handling capacity to 160,000 tons by 2011.

The company also plans to expand and establish CFSs at selected ports as part of its objective to develop a full door-to-door delivery service and create its own infrastructure to handle containers and granites.

The future of A.S. Shipping is positive and reflects the growing trading ties between India and China, which are expected to become even more vibrant and robust in the years to come.

www.asshipping.com

(China Daily 08/18/2008 page14)