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Break Bulk Europe 2022 (hereinafter BB Europe) was held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, from 17^th to 19^th May 2022. In the past, BB Europe had been held every year, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first time it had been held in person in three years. The MOL Group, which handles the transport of Break Bulk Cargo around the world, has regularly participated in the event, and this time the entire group participated. The activities of the event are introduced in this article.

Venue: Rotterdam Ahoy

BB Europe is an event (exhibition) that brings together logistics providers from around the world, mainly from Europe, with booths by companies and port authorities present. After two cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a diverse group of stakeholders, including container shipping companies, car carrier companies, terminal companies, and forwarders were excited to be able to meet again after such a long break. In addition to BB Europe, other events such as BB Americas, BB Middle East and BB Asia take place where various solutions to regional Break Bulk cargo transportation are introduced.

The following seven MOL Group companies participated in BB Europe:

On the first day, Tuesday, 17 May, only exhibitors participated, with the opening event held as a place for companies to interact with each other. As it was the first time in three years that the event was being held, the participants were very happy to see each other again after such a long time.

17 May (Day 1)

On the second day, Wednesday, 18 May, visitors also joined the event, and by the end of the event, nearly 12,000 people had attended.

Employees from our company also participated in meetings and sales pitches with other companies, and the eight-hour event passed quickly.

Many customers who are considering the transportation of heavy loads raised their concerns regarding having trouble with transportation methods due to the shortage of space in recent years. For this reason, it seemed that many of them wanted confirmation of the service provided by our company.

In addition to companies in Europe, port officials in Africa and logistics companies in Asia also participated in the event. This was a place where networking activities could take place in a wide range of areas, not just an opportunity to introduce their own services.

18 May (Day 2)

On the last day, Thursday, 19 May, in contrast to the previous day's excitement, some companies had already started cleaning up! In Antwerp, where the festival had previously been held, a large party had been held after the second day. Consequently, the final day was poorly attended because many corporate guests were suffering from hangovers! This year no such party was held, but maybe because of tiredness from the previous couple of days, things were relatively calm on the final day.

Our group booth closed around 16: 00 and the cleanup operation was completed quickly. The booth was dismantled the same day.

At this event, I exchanged about 100 business cards in 3 days. The MOL Group has a strong interest in car carrier routes that spread all over the world, and among the materials prepared by our company, the car carrier route maps disappeared the quickest. Coil Porter, (a solution for easier and safer transport of coils and steel materials), which MOL is currently developing, received a lot of interest. Therefore, MOL will actively seek to expand this business.

The panels and notices used at this event had been reused from the previous event and will be used again next year with minor modifications.

Next year's schedule has already been set, and the next meeting will also be held in Rotterdam from 6 to 8 June 2023. Of course, our group is planning to participate in this event again and we hope to be able to display more powerful exhibits.

BB Europe organizers have released a video giving reactions to the event, so please watch it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qI3imj6wf2w