“A real challenge,” is how Pierre Arzel, Branch Manager of AGS Nantes, sums up the successful vehicle repatriation.

It all started at the beginning of 2020, when four French couples embarked on a 32 000km off-road adventure between French Guiana, Ushuaia and Panama in their own vehicles. Their adventure came to an abrupt halt on 25 March when the global pandemic drove Bolivia into a strict lockdown. The eight travellers were forced to return to France on a repatriation flight organised by the local French Embassy, but their 4x4s stayed behind. “We didn’t want to leave them in the street,” explains Denis Mutter, one of the cars’ owners. “The French embassy suggested leaving the cars at the French high school parking lot in La Paz.”

After two months spent hoping they would be able to finish their epic journey, the vehicle owners approached AGS Nantes to arrange the return of the cars to France. This is when Pierre Arzel took over their file. “I was familiar with AGS expertise and professionalism because I had used their services when I was expatriated in Senegal,” says Denis Mutter. “I knew that the team would do their utmost to organise the shipment.”

An extraordinary exercise

After finalising the quotation on 4 June, Pierre got to work. Little did he know that the shipment would take almost a year to arrive. Obtaining the green light from the Bolivian authorities and customs proved extremely complex because of the unprecedented circumstances: It is against the law to abandon French vehicles belonging to French citizens, in cases where they leave the country indefinitely. The file took months to process, suffering further delays due to the pandemic and a sluggish Bolivian economy.

Pierre initially looked to the Bolivian shipper he usually works with for help. However, lockdown had pushed his contacts into short-time which greatly slowed the process. “Where a document would usually arrive in three days, we had to wait 15 days,” remembers Pierre. Bolivian customs also pointed out that the usual procedures were not applicable given the circumstances.

After a few weeks, customs delivered documents in Spanish for legalisation by the French authorities. After two months, Pierre By this time the documents had expired and he had to start all over again. This time the Bolivian presidential election slowed down the process, to the point that the new documents only arrived in at the end of October.

A return in April 2021

After several weeks, customs inspected the vehicles in December and greenlit their shipment to France. Pierre Arzel announced the great news the day before Christmas Eve. “Some of us really thought we would never see our vehicles again,” says Denis Mutter, “but we knew we could count on Pierre Arzel to keep us informed. He was invested in our predicament and showed real determination.”

Containerisation took place in January for a departure on 20 January. The four vehicles were transported in two 40m3 shipping containers, finally arriving in good condition at the port of Le Havre on 19 April 2021, more than a year after their owners had left them behind. More good news was that the couples could reclaim their deposit from the trip organiser, who had retained a percentage of the vehicles’ value to facilitate border crossings in South America.

“This file is one of the most complicated I have managed, especially because of its duration,” says Pierre Arzel. “I knew I had to persevere and insist. The file was on the top of my list every day for ten months and I was determined to see it through.”

Move with peace of mind with AGS Nantes!

When AGS Togo driver Lambert retired after 24 years of unbroken service, it was the first going away party Branch Manager Emilie Ducert had had to organise in a long time.

An AGS veteran of 12 years herself, she explains: “Our employees are very loyal. Of the permanent staff, there is not one that has been here for less than a decade.”

 
Long-serving employees like Emilie and Lambert are found throughout the AGS Group. They play a vital role in our organisation, using their years of experience to anticipate potential issues to the benefit of our clients.

“Customers also love to see the person who moved them into their house when they are moving out again. It creates a sense of trust. In that sense, the veterans play an important role as ambassadors for the business,” Emilie adds.

 
But building customer relationships is only part of why we value our seasoned staff. They are also crucial in training the younger generation, imparting priceless expertise that would normally take years to accumulate. This is how we ensure that when the next Lambert is ready to retire, there is always someone ready to fill his capable shoes.

 
Emilie believes that passing the baton is a unique part of AGS culture and a big contributor to the feeling of family that pervades the Togo branch: “We have a very close relationship with the staff. Whenever we can, we help them. It’s this spirit that they appreciate and, if you ask me, it’s why our going-away parties are few and far between.”

Needing a reliable company to move you from or to Togo? Don’t hesitate to contact us.

We’d love to move you.

Lambert’s farewell occurred before the pandemic, pictures do not show the masks

Feature image: The only cake befitting AGS Togo’s longest-serving truck driver

The operation, which was conducted by the Rwanda Educational Board and funded by the British Council, takes place over three phases during the first three quarters of 2019. The first distribution was completed between February and early April and the second one between late May and the end of June. The last distribution phase will take place between July and August.

A total of 2500 schools in Rwanda has already received, or will soon receive, a chest full of mathematical material. The material also includes compasses, rulers, pocket calculators and protractors – everything to aid the next generation of scientists. In addition to this equipment, young students of P2 and P3 classes will also receive an extra book for two students.

Access to the schools, which are spread over 30 districts around the country, is often very difficult. To transport the total 625cbm of material, the AGS team has to drive the truck as close as possible to the schools, then complete the journey either by 4×4, on foot or sometimes by boat for some schools located on islands.

The team of AGS Rwanda is very excited to participate in this great project which was organised by the British Council, one of AGS’s loyal partners.

Pictured above: Young students of the Nduba school, Gasabo Districk (Province of Kigali Ville), who received mathematics books.

Pictured above: AGS Rwanda movers had to often transport the chests by foot or by boat.
Bottom right picture: Opening of a chest of mathematical material by Julian Parry, British Council Head of Project (left) and Dr Isaac Munyakazi, Minister of the Rwanda Education Board and Vice-Mayor of Gasabo District (centre).

The Grand Place is the central square in the City of Brussels and known for its decorative and aesthetic wealth. AGS Coussaert Belgium had to obtain permission to enter the square as the historical site is a pedestrian zone and no vehicles are allowed to enter.

AGS Coussaert Belgium conducted the move over the course of four days. The packing and loading of the goods took place on the first two days and another two days were attributed to the 480-kilometre journey from Brussels to Château-Renard, in north-central France.

The load encompassed 81 cubic metres of restaurant and bar furniture, including tables, chairs, lamps, sofas, armchairs and at least 50 packed cartons of chinaware pieces. Extra care and attention were given to the packing of the exclusive lamps in the restaurant.

AGS Coussaert Belgium Key Account Manager, Sven Cox, who has worked for the group for more than 12 years, managed this important move and ensured that every piece was handled with the greatest of care. Branch Manager, Yves Homerin, is very proud of the successful completion of this important move and is already in talks to conduct future moves for other Maxim’s restaurants.

AGS Warsaw Key Account Manager, Piotr Zelwak managed the move of Mr Leoni’s goods from Poland back to Brazil. Piotr, an AGS veteran for more than 20 years, has handled countless moves throughout his career but admits that this move was very special due to its sensitive nature. “The household goods of Mr Leoni included large collections of fragile items such as crystal and porcelain pieces, as well as antique furniture and various works of art,”says Piotr.

The AGS Warsaw team once again demonstrated a high level of professionalism and attention to detail to move Mr Leoni’s consignment, and great care was given to packing and boxing the household items. AGS used high quality boxes and packing material to ensure all items were secure and minimum damage was caused to the valuables.*

“I was very careful in choosing a moving company as I’ve learned the importance of having an experienced team during the course of my career,” says Mr Leoni. “Considering the dismal performance of some of the moving companies we have worked with in the past, I made the decision to work with AGS for my final move back to Brazil.”

“The AGS packing team is very experienced and extremely careful with each piece. The packing was performed in the most professional way. Besides for the excellence of its packing team members, AGS also uses solid boxes which adds additional protection and gave me extra peace of mind,” says Mr Leoni.

AGS Warsaw packer, Maciej Antczak, who has worked at AGS for more than ten years, handled all the packing for the move. He did an excellent job and successfully packed more than 200 boxes of chinaware.

“I am very satisfied with the service received from AGS Warsaw. The team, under the supervision of Piotr Zelwak, was very professional and took care of all paperwork related to the move. Piotr is an industry expert and pays extra attention to all matters related to the move, from packing to shipping,” Mr Leoni added.

The AGS Group would like to congratulate Piotr (pictured above with a painting offered by Mr Leoni) on completing 20 years at the company. The success of Mr Leoni’s move is further evidence of the great service Piotr has offered during his tenure and we wish him many more successful moves in the future.

AGS Warsaw packer, Maciej Antczak, brillantly packed more than 200 boxes of chinaware.

As part of the assessment, AGS Froesch Berlin met with the management of the respective organisations to conduct a pre-move survey and immediately build a strong relationship with the organisations.

“The first impression we made with the organisations were the most important, followed by our great customer service,” says AGS Froesch Berlin Branch Manager, Klaus Meyer.

The office moves were concluded with zero damage and the organisations were very happy about the professional and skilled manner in which we’ve conducted the move.

This international private school, which hosts more than 200 students aged between 2 and 18, is changing its location, leaving the premises located in Dubravka, a suburb of Bratislava, to a new and more suitable building, located in Samorin, about 25 kilometers from the capital.

In total, AGS will move more than 650 m³ of desks, chairs, paintings and other schooling equipment. The team, led by manager Justas Cemnolonskas, will complete the move of the entire school to a new location before the start of the year in 2018.
Congratulations to the team on this important move.

Related:

Team Introduction: AGS Bratislava

As one example of the faith our clients have in us, AGS’ branch in Troyes, France, recently shipped a 1979 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow to St Helena in California, USA. Before this long journey the Rolls Royce was stored in our warehouse, where we ensured that it was protected from moisture and that its battery would not run flat. The classic car was then loaded into a 20-foot container by a tow truck, before being carefully secured for transport by AGS Troyes’ professional team.

More information about vehicle transfer >>

Access issues made the stairs unsuitable for a delivery in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Instead, the AGS team used a crane to reach the client’s terrace on the 8th floor and delivered the goods.
 

 

The new, modern office building, in line with all seismic standards, is located in the town of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. The move, which took place from 19 to 26 July, was aimed at bringing together various entities under one administrative headquarters and, consequently, to provide a better service to the public and an improved work environment to staff.

The relocation, which was completed over several stages, was executed with utmost professionalism and expertise from the AGS team. The assistance from the team contributed towards the adherence of strict deadlines, and the DAAF had its first management meeting (CODIR) on 25 July in the new offices, located on Saint-Phy Street.

Congratulations to the AGS Guadeloupe team who completed this major operation successfully!

Useful links:

Shipping parcels to Guadeloupe
Moving cars to Guadeloupe