photo: RAILTARGET/Kamil Jedynak
In an exclusive interview with RAILTARGET, Kamil Jedynak, CEO of OT Logistics, talks about the strategic importance of Polish ports amid shifting logistics routes and geopolitical challenges. He delves into their role in regional security, ongoing infrastructure upgrades, and potential for closer cooperation with Czech and Slovak markets.
Could you briefly introduce OT Logistics?
Hello. I'm Kamil Jedynak, CEO of OT Logistics Company. We are a stock exchange company. We are one of the biggest logistics operators in Poland, owning the ports' assets. We own two ports in Świnoujście and Gdynia. In our group, we also have a couple of companies providing different logistics services, so we are able to provide a full logistics chain to our customers using the seaports as part of their logistics activity.
How do you see the role of Polish ports in the European transport market?
The Polish ports, as ports in general, are vital assets for national and regional economies. Especially recently, after the start of the war in Ukraine, it became even more important for the economy from both the economic and the strategic point of view. So I see that, especially now when we have quite an unpredictable situation in the market, these ports and the ports' assets are very crucial for the regional economy, not only in terms of delivering the logistics and economic solutions but also from the strategic point of view, in providing the proper level of the safety and the security in the region.
What's your view on the changes in the transport market and the shift in the commodity of shipping?
Recently, we have been facing quite rapid changes in the logistics routes. We are living in very unstable and unpredictable times. The ports and the logistics routes will be changing very rapidly. So I think the Polish ports can be very important and interesting points for the regional companies and the Czech companies could be among them. We are aware that the Czech companies used to use mainly the German ports in the past, but I believe, in the present times—especially when we talk about the future safety of Europe, where there is a strong need to provide strategic backup for the logistics routes—Czech companies should also review the logistics routes and take into the account the new routes through the Polish ports. There are a lot of changes going on in the Polish ports. We make a lot of investments in improving the facility, changing the activity profile, and improving the railways and the roads. Even if those parts were not interesting in the past for the Czech customers, they should review them now to check the present capabilities of these ports and reconsider changing some of the logistics routes.
You've mentioned the Czech Republic as the potential customer you'd love to cooperate with. Which markets are you currently operating in?
Thank you. Currently, the Polish market is the main one, of course. In our ports, we deal with different kinds of products and commodities. Partly, these are the commodities for the energy and steel industries. We also do a lot of grains in our ports, and apart from that, we deal with general cargo and intermodal connections between Scandinavia and Europe. We deal with most commodities and products. We do some cargo with the Slovakian and Czech markets, but of course, we would like to expand these areas in the near future. We see really huge potential for commodities and intermodal transportation, as well as connecting the North of Europe with the South and developing Eastern and Western corridors. Another crucial part is that these ports are the gates for Ukraine that can be used not only for the delivery of arms and the supply for the military but also for delivering the products for Ukraine's restoration in the future.
My last question is regarding the Czech Republic and Czech companies. What services would you offer to local customers?
As I said, due to the recent changes, we are preparing our ports for any possible situations. We are going towards the complete versatility of ports in order to be able to deal with different kinds of products. Nowadays, it's hard to say which specific areas we can cooperate in with the Czech companies. It's rather a question for the Czech market. What can we provide to them? As I've mentioned, we are dealing with different products and sectors of the economy. And actually, we're ready to deal with most of the commodities. So again, this is the question we should ask our Czech and Slovakian customers to check our possibilities, come up with the questions, and pass potential business to us.