Introducing our new colleague Patty Chiu

27 March 2020

The Team page is one of the best viewed pages on our website. And we are naturally very proud of that. Since December 2019, Ritra Cargo has a new colleague in Marketing & Sales: Patty Chiu. So how does she like life at the Waalhaven? Does Ritra’s performance differ greatly from that of her previous employer, Cargo Services in Hong Kong? We posed these questions to our new colleague, with her Hong Kong roots and Rotterdam mentality!

The world of logistics is a small one

Patty is of Hong Kong origin. And is certainly no stranger to various Ritra Cargo employees. She worked from 2004 to 2011 at the head office of Cargo Services in Hong Kong. Because Cargo Services has been Ritra Cargo’s permanent Chinese partner for more than 20 years, a number of colleagues remember her from the period she worked in Hong Kong. As is the case with all our agents, there was also daily telephone and email contact with Patty.

Nice of you to let us ask you some questions, Patty. Could you tell us more about yourself? Who are you, what are you doing, and what’s your background?

My name is Patty Chiu, and I work as Sales Support in the Marketing & Sales department in Rotterdam. I was born in Hong Kong. When I was born, Hong Kong was still a British colony. It is a beautiful Asian city where several cultures come together. My family still lives there and I’m the only one living abroad.

I am somewhere in my thirties (…) and have been living in Rotterdam since 2011. I am married to Martin and have two sons, Joe 13 and Jamie 9. Martin also works in the logistics sector. We got to know each other when he requested a quote for an LCL shipment from Hong Kong to Rotterdam. I was working at Cargo Services and Martin worked at Ritra Cargo in Rotterdam at the time. In the end Martin didn’t get the load, but he did get a nice family!

Can you explain what your job at Cargo Services involved?

Cargo Services was my first employer after studying Business Studies at a university in the UK. I started as a Management Trainee and after six months of training, projects and gaining experience in different departments, I started working as a Sales Executive. Later I was transferred to Corporate Marketing & Pricing. Here I was responsible for negotiating freight rates, solving problems and liaising with customers, shippers and agents.

Are the employers Cargo Services and Ritra Cargo very different from each other?

Cargo Services is a very large organisation with more than 100 employees per (regional) office. Ritra Cargo is comparatively modest, with 31 employees in Rotterdam and 6 in Amsterdam. However, I do find the functionality at Ritra particularly notable. The atmosphere is relaxed and everyone has their own tasks and responsibilities. At Cargo Services I have experienced somewhat more pressure, as more value is attached to reports and sales figures. At Ritra Cargo there are colleagues who have been working for the company for more than 25 years. They have specialised increasingly over the years, and I’m really grateful that they want to teach me the trade.

How did you end up at Ritra Cargo?

My husband Martin ran into Martijn Berghout (Ritra Cargo Director/Co-owner, ed.) in the Waalhaven. They got to talking and because I still know Martijn from my period at Cargo Services, he also asked how I was doing. The next day Martijn called me and invited me for an interview. He was looking for someone to strengthen the Marketing & Sales Team. The great thing about this is that, because of my background, I already know a lot of customers and Chinese shippers.

What do you do now at Marketing & Sales? And what else would you like to learn?

In my current position I provide reports, create presentations and provide support in drafting quotations. I have also re-established contact with former Cargo Services colleagues. I feel good about being part of a company, and this is a great place to do that. I would like to see Ritra Cargo grow even further in the coming years. I would also like to learn to speak Dutch better. Fortunately, my immediate colleagues are also helping with this. I am really pleased with the tips and explanations they give me. They’re even trying to teach me some Dutch sayings, even though they’re very tricky.

Interested about other Ritra Cargo employees? View our Team on the website.