President of Luka Koper Management Board, Mr Gregor Veselko, and his colleagues received representatives of logistics provider Glovis, together with South Korean motor manufacturers Kia and Hyundai, both of which supply their Central European assembly plants via Koper, as well as use the port for the transhipment of vehicles.
In the words of Mr Myung Chul Chung (Executive Vice-President of KIA Motors Slovakia) and Mr Oun-Chang Rhee (Head of Parts Development at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech), positive trends can be perceived in car sales which is also corroborated by the large shipments of sheet metal and other component elements which are regularly imported through the Port of Koper to the newly established Korean plants in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. As yet these facilities are not running at their maximum capacity, and production is anticipated to become optimal at year’s end. Accordingly, related component and vehicle flows are increasing every month, and recent investments by Luka Koper in port infrastructure will undoubtedly add to the ever more rapid and reliable provision of services.
KIA and Hyundai rank among our company’s most important clients, and it was their vehicle imports which marked the onset of the development of Luka Koper’s Car Terminal, which is today one of the largest in the Mediterranean. In order to facilitate the growth in its partners operations, Luka Koper is constructing new multi-storey garage facilities, which will provide additional storage capacity for 55,000 cars within the port zone. January to May vehicle throughput amounted to 115,595 units, which is a 57% downturn on the same period last year. Due to the fact that the recession has affected motor vehicles more than any other area of business, this promising news from our close business partners fills us with optimism.
