Bunker One: Expect to See Steady Growth Driven by Opportunity, Not Necessity

Bunker One expects steady growth over the coming months. Image Credit: Bunker One.

Last month Bunker Holding Group (BHG) officially unified and rebranded its global physical bunker supply entities as Bunker One. With the project having been underway for a lot longer than many will likely realise, the company is now entering a period of steady growth driven by opportunity rather then necessity.

"We as a Group are doing this to be ready for 2020," says Peter Zachariassen, Global Director Physical of Bunker Holding's Bunker One, who recently spoke to Ship & Bunker about the new brand.

Spread across North and South America, Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, and Asia, Bunker One already boasts 13 locations that range from well established supply operations to brand new ventures.

"We have some good guys in the group that have been established with a good name for a long time, such as in Sweden where we have been 25 years in the market. These operations are world class in their local market, but when you go outside, they are less known. So this is what we want to push, that we have this talent and we can use that across all our operations. And as we expand we are able to draw on this experience, such as in Galveston where we launched only a few months ago," he says.

Going forwards, Zachariassen says over the coming months the market can expect to see a steady stream of announcements detailing new Bunker One supply locations.

Where

"At Bunker One we are not focused on supplying just at major ports like e.g.  Rotterdam or New York. There are opportunities to supply in a lot of niche ports and this is really where our focus will be," says Zachariassen.

The recent new supply location set to launch in Israel is a case in point, a project noted to have been under development for the past two years.

In terms of how fast the growth will take place, Bunker One currently has focus on Northern Europe, MED, North and South America. "Asia is also in the pipeline and we will start looking into this specific area in more details now," Zachariassen says.

There is also no target for how many supply locations Bunker One expects to have, nor is the supplier aiming to be the biggest in the world just because it "sounds good": "Our target is to be the best and most trusted supplier to our customers and to be in the markets where we can make a difference."

Why

With all the recent talk of disintermediation and pressure on trading houses' margins, it would be easy to think a key force driving Bunker One is diversification for Bunker Holding.

"We have listened to our clients and it is true some want to go more direct to physical, so this is one reason why we want to do this. But this is not a forced situation, it is about seizing the opportunity," says Zachariassen.

"It is certainly not a case of either / or as there will still be big room for trading in 2020. We need both physical and trading, these two models compliment each other."

How

Particularly in light of the significant market change expected with IMO2020, Zachariassen says having maximum flexibility for any new operations is key.

"Each market is unique, and 2020 is going to amplify that. There will be a far wider range of products and what their demand will be in each market is not so clear. So we like to be asset light to make it easier to scale up or down. This gives us the agility to change according to the market trends and our customers' demands," he says.

"We are setting up our own operations, with our own people, making proper use of the skills sets we already have in our Physical organisation. We are bringing the local knowledge to worldwide coverage.

"What stays the same is when customers see Bunker One we want them know they will receive a common experience with a consistent high level of quality, transparency, and service, no matter where in the world they are."