Gothenburg, Sweden, 31.01.2018, 10:37 Uhr

Keijo Hiltunen

Välkommen till Sverige

Sveriges Skeppshandlareförbund says Hej

The proud Sveriges Skeppshandlareförbund, represented by its Chairman Keijo Hiltunen presents itself and highlights the importance of ship supplying for Northern Europe!

The Swedish Ship Suppliers Association or Sveriges Skeppshandlareförbund was founded in 1948, with 48 ship suppliers as members; this year it will proudly celebrate its 70-year anniversary. Today, it is a vibrant union of the shipping companies in Sweden, based in Gothenburg. The association’s purpose is strong cooperation amongst Swedish ship suppliers, as well as cooperation with the international ship supply organizations, ISSA and OCEAN. Future development of our industry, as well as negotiating, sharing opinions with, and delivering industry views to Swedish authorities and institutions are key objectives of the Association, thereby promoting the healthy development of ship supply in Sweden. The chairman is Keijo Hiltunen, who also serves as the Association’s representative in OCEAN’s Board and has been elected to serve in ISSA’s Executive Board from 2018.

Sveriges Skeppshandlareförbund has a proud history of European and International engagement with the ship supply industry, being a member of OCEAN and ISSA from the beginning of their existence. Former Chairman Stefan Ericsson was even Chairman of OCEAN from 2008 to 2012.

The ship supply industry in Sweden has been strongly reduced after joining the EU, after the decline and subsequent loss of the duty-free market. There is also added pressure as vessels have gotten bigger and bigger, and require loading in bigger ports located outside Sweden, across Europe. It also means more road transportation from and to Scandinavia. Today, the Association is still fighting to keep the highly reduced ship supply industry going, together with our 13 members, mostly small companies managed by 1 or 2 staff members.

We are trying to find cooperation with other associations (as the Swedish ship agencies association) to become a stronger organization.