WHEN the pandemic hit, many companies were forced to adapt to the fast-changing world.
The Florida-based Buttenberg & MP was one of those.
The company, which principally sourced and supplied parts and materials for T&T’s energy sector, got into the personal protective equipment (PPE) business.
The company’s Miami operations manager Richard Martin told the Express Business that it worked for Buttenberg & MP because it already had a strategic build out of warehouses and capacity to shift between any region in Europe, Asia and the US with hubs in Miami, France and Texas.
This, said Martin, gave it an advantage in shipping from other regions into the US.
To meet the high demand for PPE due to the pandemic, Buttenberg & MP began supplying clients with gowns, masks, filters, shoe coverings and testing kits in addition to its existing services.
“With the onset of the pandemic, there was a sudden increase in the demand for PPE in the Trinidad and Tobago market and we quickly became one of the main exporters of PPE from the Miami area to Trinidad and Tobago. We had to diversify within the context of the pandemic to support our client in getting back to work. We reached out to them with what we could offer and we were amazed by the overwhelming feedback. This was a new product segment for us, so we tailor-made packages for our clients and we were responsive to their urgent need for PPE,” Martin told the Express Business in an interview last week.
He said the change was scary as the company didn’t know how it would manage the process—people were not working, companies were rescheduling their turnarounds and all their maintenance works.
But for its core customers, there was demand for PPE, and the company started to provide that for them.
“As things started to progress, throughout the year in 2020 people came back to work. A lot of work from home but business had to continue. We had to figure out a way how we can help our customers to still produce. We got into the nitty gritty and we purchased a lot of stock of medical masks and stuff like that. That way, we can have a quick turnaround because there were no masks anywhere. Everybody was ordering masks and the only place that had was China and Asia. I’m kind of proud of how we were able to help the industry still try to achieve their goals and their maintenance programmes,” said Martin.
He observed that the company’s supply chain was affected when the Delta variant hit India, but now most businesses are back to being online.
But the company has had to pivot a second time around because of the global container crisis which is affecting how fast its customers can get goods.
“Now we have a lot of supply and obviously a lot of demand and now we can’t ship things,” he said.
He said they have worked with Ramps Logistics and Cargo Trinidad to get goods to customers but acknowledged that it has become a costly exercise.
“Our cost is now double time. So that’s a really big challenge right now, the cost of things and trying to minimise how we marginalise even our product. So now because shipping is so high, we have to reorganise our profits. We’re also diminishing our internal profits as well because of the services and the challenges that we’re facing,” he said.
He said by January 2021, the company recognised and experienced clogs in the system before it hit the mainstream news.
“It just skyrocketed. Everything was just in shambles everywhere. The quotes were coming in really late. There were no bookings. Nobody wanted to book anything,” said Martin.
He observed that a container that would cost US$2,500 to ship is now costing US$10,000 to $12,000.
In the interim, he said that the company is able to ship many of the goods and services via air transport.
“We’ve pivoted with cost. It’s a service we are able to provide for our customers who need something really fast, very urgently,” he said.
He said the company can source equipment from anywhere in the world and direct ships using air freight or sea freight at a lower cost, with greater ease of tracking and faster delivery times.
In emergency situations, including a plant turnaround, the firm can enable a one to two day ship time. It also offers a buying advantage for its clients with a credit line of up to US$500,000.
For now, he said, the shipping costs have plateaued.
“It’s staying at a certain cost and it hasn’t increased anymore. I think it’s kind of hit its peak of where it needs to be and I think it’s going to kind of keep going down so I project possibly, March to May, we should be half for where we’re at right now.
“It’s reached its maximum peak. Right now, it cannot reach any higher,” he said.
He noted that the company has expanded into South America with projects in the mining and energy sector in Suriname, Guyana and Peru and has several other promising projects in the pipeline.
