Can you give an overview of Bertschi’s recent investments and developments in Singapore?

Bertschi has been in Singapore for about seven years, and we operate from our integrated Jurong Island Chemical Cluster (JICC). One of our most significant investments to date has been the addition of a second warehouse building, through which we have doubled our storage capacity from approximately 24,000 pallet positions to 48,000. In addition, we have also invested in another fully automated drumming line – a decanting line from large ISO tanks into smaller containers – which will come online later in 2022.

In 2021, Bertschi made a big step to invest further in our human capital and developing our talents. We have increased our safety headcount by more than 100%, and today we count on a large safety and quality department with additional responsibilities. Three highly trained registered safety officers are monitoring the sites for safety, quality, and sustainability. Bertschi is proud to be one of the few fully licensed dangerous goods warehouse and logistics provider in Singapore.

What are the current demand trends for chemical storage in the region?

Global supply chains have become extremely unstable and undependable for both raw materials and packaging materials. In response, manufacturers have started to ramp up their inventories and are keeping buffer stocks, marking a change of paradigm from “just in time” to “just in case.” With a shortage of available ISO tanks and over-booked shipping lines, shipping costs have skyrocketed, making imports and exports incredibly expensive. Demand for Bertschi’s warehousing services has been high, and we expect this situation to continue for at least the next two years until the shipping industry sorts itself out.

Could you share with our audience Bertschi’s sustainability strategy?

First of all, we look at ways to minimize our carbon footprint and energy use. Recently, we installed 300,000 square feet of solar panels, and the electricity generated is used to power both of our warehouses as well as all our battery-automated VNAs and material handling equipment. Having recently embarked on running our own fleet for Singapore, our long-term plan is to embed sustainability within our trucking and transportation by looking into the use of alternative fuel sources. At this stage, the technology is not yet ready to be deployed at a large-scale, but electric vehicles (EV) are progressing so fast that I would not be surprised to see a viable solution in the next few years.

Bertschi is also conscious of business sustainability: Besides showing environmental and societal responsibility, we need to be cost sustainable in terms of passing down savings to customers. I strongly believe the growth of our company depends on proving the market that we are sustainable in every way.

Could you comment on the talent pool dynamics in Singapore?

The labour market in Singapore can be divided into two broad categories – white collars and blue collars. When it comes to the first, there is no shortage of supply. Singapore’s stability, economic prosperity, and its general high standard of living have made Singapore a very attractive option for people around the world. On the other hand, Singapore suffers from a deficit of blue-collar workers. At Bertschi, we have experienced this gap sharply because our business depends significantly on blue collar staff. The problem lies in the educational system and societal values; in Asian culture, young generations are taught early on to strive for office positions. Much of Singapore’s manual workforce is foreign, typically nationals of South East Asian countries. This dependence on imported talent became an even graver problem during the pandemic. Singapore is fortunate to share a border with Malaysia from where it can attract a well-accomplished workforce, but the talent squeeze is becoming more delicate as the youth is less and less keen to take up manual jobs.

What are Bertschi’s vision and objectives for 2022 and beyond?

Bertschi is proud to work with a large number of chemical manufacturers in Singapore and to have already obtained contracts with the three main new plants coming onstream in 2022. Thanks to our long-standing reputation and differentiating features, we are well-positioned to see our warehouses working at full capacity in 2022.