There aren't many new businesses in the Dutch onion trade. But, Rinus Wisse has been running Wiscomex as an export office for more than a year now. Its slogan is 'Connecting Commodities'. "I concentrate primarily on trading onions, potatoes, and garlic, in that order. And with a focus on overseas exports."
When the onion season began, Rinus was immediately faced with an extreme season. "In recent years, it's been tremendously turbulent until New Year. Most of the volume has to be gone by then. If containers were available, you could fill them, that wasn't the problem. The big challenge is to do the right transactions and to choose secure trading. I don't want to be grandiose. The company must, first and foremost, be sound and stable. Then it'll grow naturally."
"I focus mainly on overseas destinations. The world's a big place. I'm not picky, but I am cautious. You have an advantage as a small agency exporter," says Rinus.
"That's compared to packers that export. In quiet periods you don't have the pressure to pound out huge volumes every week."
"This type of export, however, has a downside. You can be somewhat limited in busy periods," continues Wisse. He gets his products from a fixed group of packing companies.
There aren't any plans yet to hire extra personnel. "No matter how big you become, you're always busy. My primary focus is to set up a super-efficient IT structure. Then you can do a lot of business on your own. People couldn't travel to customers last year because of COVID-19. But that will, undoubtedly, start again. That's the way it works in this global business. The client-supplier relationship is very important. Traveling always brings you new customers and heaps of inspiration."
Rinus doesn't have any grand plans for Wiscomex. "I think visions are often intended to make a statement. Or they're discarded after a few years. I want to build a stable, future-proof family business. And I haven't regretted the move to free enterprise for a second," he concludes.
For more information:
Rinus Wisse
Wiscomex
23b Schoorkenszandweg
4431 NC, ’s-Gravenpolder, NL
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.wiscomex.com