The Gaston Schul Group, Europe’s largest independent customs brokerage company, plans to significantly strengthen its position in the Nordic region. After acquiring Oslo Customs Brokers in Kløfta Norway, establishing in Sweden is the next step in their strategic direction. The Scandinavian operations are led by Konrad Kuhlman.

“We are working on establishing a European network where we can offer our full-service portfolio on a full European scale,” tells Rob Ewalds enthusiastically. “Our goal is to be the leading provider of customs and trade services in Europe. We offer what we call a full-service concept to major logistics service providers, direct shippers and freight forwarders,” says Ewalds.

He continues: “There is a lot of customs traffic between the Norwegian/Swedish border. By establishing ourselves not only in Norway but also in Sweden, we are able to provide our customers with our customs brokerage services on both sides of the border. This perfectly aligns with our full-service approach.”

A full-service concept: Solving customers’ pain points

Gaston Schul offers what they call a full-service concept to major logistics service providers and direct shippers. “Full-service means that we offer import, export, and transit documentation, but also consultancy, training, digital solutions, and a control tower solution. Think customs, call us!” is the appeal from Ewalds.

“We focus our services on customers of a certain scale, such as large manufacturers of goods and logistics service providers. These customers often struggle in the customs arena regarding compliance in quality, efficiency, and with the costs of importing/exporting their products. Therefore, we offer partnerships and proactive solutions to these customers, enabling them to solve pain points. That’s also why we offer the full-service model. We focus our business on sectors like fish, fresh produce, retail, automotive, and leisure.”

Investing in the Nordic region: Building a strong EU network

“We believe in the concept of offering an EU customs and trade solution, as this is important for our customers. The Nordic region is a pivotal part of this EU network. The Nordic region is also a large market with significant potential for us, not least in fresh produce.”

“What’s also making it interesting for us to invest in the Nordic region is the Norwegian/Swedish border in terms of customs services. Eventually we want to expand our presence in all Scandinavian countries. We are now implementing this intention with operations in Sweden and opening an office in Strömstad next month.’

Gaston Schul: An independent privately-owned customs specialist

“We believe it is justified to call ourselves the super-specialist with the best knowledge in digitalisation and customer focus in the market, focused on customs only.  This is a very important resource for our customers. They demand a service provider that only focuses on customs. Keep in mind that we prepare confident declarations with significant financial risk for our customers. It’s not just about creating documents, but creating a compliant flow of goods,” Ewalds emphasises.

Rob Ewalds leads the only remaining independent privately-owned customs and trade service provider in Western Europe, offering services across a wide span of Western European countries. His company has been in this business for nearly 180 years and today has around 350 employees in almost eight countries.

Solid Nordic leadership

Konrad Kuhlman is a well-known name in transport and logistics circles in Norway and he will now lead the Scandinavian operations as Gaston Schul strengthens its position in the Scandinavian and European customs market.

“We are very pleased to have Kuhlman on board with the company since the beginning of this year. He has a lot of experience from our industry, including a senior leadership role in the former KGH organization and later Maersk. Here he was responsible for the company’s operations in several countries in Western Europe. Kuhlman will lead our Nordic operations, alongside our German activities.” says Rob Ewalds.

Facts: Gaston Schul Group

• Gaston Schul is a global full-service provider of customs and trade services, assisting transport and logistics companies as well as multinational corporations and direct shippers in customs matters.

• In 2022, Gaston Schul acquired the Norwegian customs specialist Oslo Customs Brokers (OCB), which later was named Gaston Schul Customs AS. The acquisition was an important part of the European growth ambitions of the Dutch company Gaston Schul. Today, the company offers full-service customs access within the Scandinavian market.

• As of next month, the company is opening an office in Strömstad and thereby starting its operations in Sweden.

• The focus is on relieving companies of all customs formalities, as well as seizing new business opportunities in relation to international trade.

• Gaston Schul is a privately owned, independent expert in full-service customs service provider since 1845, navigating the complexities of international trade for nearly 180 years.

• The company has over 350 customs specialists spread across 14 locations in Norway, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and Germany.

• Gaston Schul has access to a strong global customs network to support customer demands worldwide.

An in-depth interview with Gaston Schul’s CEO Rob Ewalds was conducted by Logistikknyhetene.no and is published here: https://www.logistikknyhetene.no/post/tar-toll-grep-styrker-posisjonen-i-norge-og-europa