​FGN Global Logistics is pleased to announce that we completed 2022 with a perfect safety record. We had no safety related service interruptions with any of the thousands of flexitank loaded containers we handled this year. Completing a calendar year without a single incident is a notable “first”.
 
When FGN came to market, we established an integrated flexitank logistics process that was designed to drive service quality and safety. This process, supported by a corporate culture of excellence, has resulted in an exceptional safety record over the years.  In 2022 we reached our greatest goal - a “zero-incident” year.
 
Credit goes to our operations leadership team, as well as to the FGN logisticians who operate shipments on a daily basis. Our global network of vendors also deserves special recognition, as many of our partners have provided FGN with years of dedicated, quality service. 
 
High-quality flexitanks are of course key to service excellence and safety in our business. We note here our manufacturing partners and thank them for providing us with superb, best-in-class flexitanks.
 
During 2022 FGN expanded our service offering to include ISO tank fleet and shipment management. These new and innovative services are bringing the same efficiencies and quality of service to the ISO tank sector that we provide in the flexitank space. All indications are that FGN’s ISO tank service will help drive another year of outsized growth to our company. 
 
Thank you to our customers, vendors, and employees for making 2022 another successful year for FGN Global Logistics!
 
Rob Parrish
President

Today FGN Global Logistics returned to our Charleston based headquarters office with all staff in good health and ready to take on the rest of 2020.
 
During our nine weeks away and working from our various homes, the company maintained its business, added some new accounts, and accomplished our financial goals. It is a tribute to our employees and their families that we accomplished so much while being apart.
 
We thank our customers for supporting FGN during the time away. We were able to continue working because our customers continued shipping. It is a testament to our customers’ commitment to their own companies that we could all keep moving forward.
 
Further, our vendors deserve a special thanks. Our truckers, trans-loaders, fitters, and flexitank factory workers continued their daily on-site work, without fail. It meant taking on a greater risk of exposure than most of us endured. We thank them for their dedication to their work.
 
This pandemic will bring permanent changes to the flexitank business environment. Industry consolidation appears to have accelerated, as several weaker companies have been absorbed or gone out of business. And the impact of China-U.S. economic decoupling has the potential to have a significant impact on flexitank logistics. 
 
But coming out of the shutdown, we believe FGN is poised to be an even stronger company than before. In our ten years of being in business, this may have been our biggest challenge. If nothing else, we are now secure in the knowledge that even in the most difficult of times, FGN excels.

We at FGN want to offer a quick status update, given the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact social distancing is having on the economy.

FGN is financially strong. We remain on budget for 2020 and our customers continue to ship. Our cash position is normal and our employees are confident. We have had no firings, furloughs, or other reductions in force. Additionally, we have taken all precautions necessary to keep our employees safe and healthy, including the requirement to work from home until further notice. 

Our expectation is that April will be a difficult month for the business community, our country, and the world. However, we at FGN will continue to work normal hours. Our cloud-based systems, digitized forwarding operations, and home-based hardware redundancy will allow us the to remain fully operational during April and beyond.

All of us at FGN want to thank our customers for your continued support. Your business means we are able to maintain a normalcy in our lives that others less fortunate cannot. We very much appreciate your business. 

If there is anything we can do for you and your business, please do not hesitate to ask. The FGN team remains ready, willing and able to handle your international shipping.

As we all know, the coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on the Chinese manufacturing economy. However, last week the Chinese Communist Party declared that worst of their epidemic over and urged factory workers to return to their jobs. 

Not all did. A significant proportion of Chinese workers chose to remain in self-quarantine. Reports are that the manufacturing sector of the Chinese economy is presently running at less than half of pre-coronavirus levels. 

It is also now being reported that some number of Chinese factories are being staffed by “forced labor”. What that means varies by report… reports that can be seen in many major news outlets in the West.

The point is this. U.S. corporations operating internationally are subject to the tenets of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), as well as other laws meant to ensure they maintain proper business practices worldwide. Generally, these laws are applicable to not only U.S. corporate subsidiaries, but also to third-party vendors from whom U.S. companies buy products.

As the present global medical emergency plays out, there will be fallout in many unexpected areas of the economy. One may be a slew of U.S. law suits that emerge from the labor practices presently being used in China. 

U.S. companies should closely consider risks associated with purchasing products from China in this present environment. FGN manufactures our flexitanks in Indonesia and can be an alternative for companies normally buying Chinese made flexitanks.

This article from the Economist details the effect of COVID-19 on Chinese supply chains – an effect we are already feeling at FGN Global Logistics. 

We source various elements of our flexitank systems from China and already vendors are telling us they cannot know when the components will be available. Fortunately, we have secondary vendors in other countries. 

The primary manufacturing operations of FGN flexitanks are in Indonesia, where supply chains continue to flow uninterrupted. We wonder what companies who source polyethylene film and assemble flexitanks in China will do as supply disruptions continue.

FGN moved our flexitank manufacturing operations out of China in 2018, specifically because of supply chain risk issues. Since then, 25% tariffs have been implemented on Chinese flexitanks. And now we have COVID-19. 

FGN is increasing our flexitank safety stocks in the United States to ensure adequate inventories if shortages develop across the market. Please let us know if you expect to experience shortages and we will consider your needs in our future inventory levels.

​Flexitanks imported into the United States from China are now subject to a 25% import tariff. This is a result of restrictions implemented by the Trump Administration after the recent breakdown of trade talks with the Chinese government.
 
FGN moved our flexitank production from China to Indonesia in 2018 due in no small part because of “trade risk” related to China. The specter of import duty on our flexitank supply was very much part of our calculation when considering a new manufacturing location.
 
Low quality Chinese flexitanks will now have a more difficult time competing in the U.S. market. With their cost advantage reduced, Chinese firms will need to determine if they can continue their strategy of “buying” U.S. market share. We anticipate that they cannot.
 
FGN produces what many consider to be the best flexitank available in the global market. Integrated into our innovative, intermodal logistics processes, our flexitank is part of a high-quality product and service offering that delivers bulk liquid shipments at the lowest possible per unit cost.
 
With the new tariff on Chinese flexitanks, we expect FGN to continue to increase our share of U.S. flexitank market and secure our position as the leading flexitank logistics company in the United States and overseas.

​Recently one of our customers put our flexitank through a rigorous testing protocol prior to awarding us their business. The results came back superior to any other tank they had ever tested. It reminded us that in a busy business, we often don’t do enough to let our customers know that the FGN Flexitank is arguably the best and highest quality flexitank in the market.  
 
With that in mind, here are some facts:

• The FGN flexitank is the only tank available in the United States that is fully Container Owner’s Association (COA) compliant. It is accepted and fully authorized by all the Class One railroads and is pre-cleared to be shipped on every ocean carrier that accepts flexitanks.

• We assemble our tank in a brand new, purpose built factory in Jakarta, Indonesia. By moving operations from China last year, we reduced trade, tariff, and tax risk and started producing our flexitank in a more hospitable and efficient manufacturing environment.

• Scientex, a leading global plastic packaging supplier, manufactures our prime, virgin polyethylene film. In a market where some flexitank suppliers are struggling to make their own PE film, our film is produced by the best plastics packaging specialist in the world.

• Scientex uses Exxon polyethylene, which is the most impenetrable PE being used in flexitanks today. High-density polyethylene restricts product migration/contamination, provides superior strength, and allows for a better-engineered flexitank.

• The FGN Flexitank is a two-layer (PE), “bag-in-a-bag” configuration that has proved over the years to be the best design configuration for flexitanks. The 2 x 200 mm layers constitute the optimum weight of polyethylene per flexitank (greater than most others) and the polypropylene cloth outer layer is the heaviest tested weight we have observed in the market.

• And finally, our flexitank comes with a fully integrated international logistics service that uses state-of-the-art, cloud-based and digital transportation management systems (TMS) operated by highly skilled, professional logisticians.

 
As the global flexitank industry continues to consolidate into fewer and fewer suppliers, FGN Global Logistics is preparing for our tenth anniversary in business. Offering what can be considered the highest quality flexitank available has been a key reason for our continued, long-term growth and success.

​FGN Global Logistics continues to grow our business with great success. In 2017 we maintained our historical top line revenue growth at 40%. Unlike previous years however, innovation and scale efficiencies brought notable increases in profitability. Our constantly improving software technologies coupled with higher volumes helped drive the higher net revenues.

During 2017 we also greatly expanded our intermodal logistics business. FGN now has the leading rail-to-flexitank network in the U. S., which is comprised of seven trans-loading sites that transfer large volumes of bulk liquids from rail to container. Our intermodal logistics solutions have opened new and profitable international markets to our customers.

Rob Parrish, FGN’s president, commented on the year’s accomplishments:

“For five consecutive years we have aimed for growth and investment levels that we knew would eventually impact our bottom line in a very positive way. In 2017 we reached that goal, which speaks well to the commitment and dedication of our employees. 

Further, we got a great deal of positive feedback from our customers about the quality of our service and our ability to meet their logistics cost requirements. ”

Mr. Parrish sees 2018 as another great year for the company: 

“At the beginning of 2017 we were confident it would be a good year due in no small part to the to improving economy. With several quarters of 3+% GDP growth, a dollar rate that was good for exporters, and stable ocean container pricing, FGN finally had a tail wind from a healthy economy in 2017. 

In the coming year we believe our customers will again have a good business climate for their international sales and sourcing… one which should push our sales to new and significant heights.”

During this holiday season we want to thank our customers for their business and support. We also tip our hat to our fantastic vendor network, without which we could not deliver our logistics services. As we go off to spend some time with our families between Christmas and New Year’s, we wish the best of holiday seasons to all. 

General Job Description:  
An FGN Export Operations Supervisor provides export shipment and logistics services for the company’s bulk liquid shipper customers. He or she oversees a portfolio of customers and uses FGN’s technology and vendor resources to deliver superior logistics services to an assigned list of customers. FGN export supervisors are responsible for their own annual budget, which requires them to ensure customer profitability and positive cash flow. 

Primary Job Functions: 
• Ensures that operational procedures in support of customer accounts are efficient and effective. 
• Operates four distinct business software systems that support all aspects of FGN’s business process.
• Manages a remote team of data entry and information management personnel. 
• Creates and manages an annual budget for his/her portion of the company’s export business; reports weekly on business performance against budget. 
• Is responsible for Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable for his/her accounts and liaises with FGN finance department to ensure proper payments and receipts are maintained. 
• Produces quotations and pricing on new and/or additional business from budgeted customers. 
• Works extensively with, and manages performance of, vendors and international agents.
• Has at least one additional administrative responsibility that supports the ongoing operation of the company.

We Seek:
• A person of strong moral character who desires to develop a career in international logistics.
• An individual who understands interpersonal dynamics and can operate comfortably in a small, closely-knit team; ability to operate in a self-directed environment.
• Someone who is naturally inclined toward using computer software systems effectively and efficiently.
• A person who is naturally well organized, pays close attention to detail, and who is personally challenged to complete detailed tasks as assigned or required. 
• One who can provide responsive and pleasant customer service while finding and executing on opportunities to expand the company’s business with its customers.
• A person who communicates effectively both in speech and the written word.

Required Skills After Initial Three-Month Training Period: 
• Ability to manage export operations independently and effectively.
• Proficiency in international documentation procedures, freight forwarding operations, and flexitank logistics.
• Full understanding and ability to use FGN computer software systems.
• Ability to meet budget and cash flow expectations of assigned accounts. 

​Experience: 
• Any professional work experience that would indicate that success as an FGN Export Operations Supervisor is likely.

Education:
• No specific education requirements.

​Work Status: 
• No specific work status required.

General Work Requirements: 
• Eight hours (8:30-5:00), Monday - Friday
• Located at 145 King Street, Suite 229, Charleston, SC 29401
• Requires up to 5 days of business travel per month, both domestic and international. 
• The position has a three-month initial evaluation period, during which the potential employee acts and is paid as a 1099 contractor.

Remuneration: 
• Three month review period - $18 per hour.
• Base pay first year - $35,000.
• Position eligible for company profit share scheme after one year.

Benefits:
• Health Insurance – South Carolina Blue Cross Blue Shield.
• Two weeks paid vacation, five bank holidays, and five floating holidays.
• Downtown garaged parking included.
• Company iPhone provided.

Reporting: 
• Reports to Durrette Wooten, Director of Operations

Further Notes and Applying: 
FGN Global Logistics is an early stage company that is growing quickly in a niche sub-market of the international logistics industry. 

We seek intelligent, success oriented professionals who have a strong interest in international logistics and want to build a career around our company. 

We operate a “professional services” employment model in which our employees consult with their customers to deliver innovative logistics solutions. 

FGN employees are highly skilled logisticians who deliver superior service to our customers. They are professional in appearance and presentation.

The export operations supervisor position is domiciled in a private office in a Class A office building in downtown Charleston. We strive for a stress-free work environment, but have very high expectations of our employees. 

To date, our employees have experienced high levels of salary growth, as it is company policy to share its increasing profitability with its employees.
​
If you would like discuss this position, please send a three-paragraph email to info@fgn-net.com (entitled “Export Supervisor Position”) explaining why you would be a good Export Supervisor at FGN Global Logistics, Inc. We will reply to your email within 48 hours.

​Last weekend FGN Senior Export Manager Stephen Kauble won the 2017 Mount Pleasant Charity Open. 

The open golf competition attracts some of the leading amateur and professional golfers in the Low Country. 

Scoring rounds of 72, 75, and 74 over the three-day event, Stephen fought off strong competition and harsh weather on the notoriously windy Patriot’s Point Golf Course to frustrate the field with a solid showing in each round.

“It felt great to put three rounds of golf together and finally come out on top,” Kauble said as he enjoyed a long sought after victory on the Mt. Pleasant course.

Stephen’s achievement at the Charity Open comes on the heels of another recent number one showing on the Championship Flight of the Charleston Golf Week Amateur Tour event at Lake Marion Golf Course in Santee.

“I’m playing some of the best golf of my life. The decision to move to Charleston to work at FGN and develop my golf game was one of the best decisions of my life.” 

FGN boasts a number of employees who excel in competitive sports. Durrette Wooten, Director of Operations, competes regularly in big game sport fishing competitions. And president Rob Parrish has been a competitive sailboat and ski racer over the years.

Rob Parrish noted, “Here at FGN we have a spirit of competition in both work and play that translates to a strong sense of accomplishment and a lot of fun.” 

Congratulations to Stephen Kauble for his success on the links this summer!