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1 / Why is our company well designed for you?
- You are: a customer of a house auction, a collector, a user of online auction sites or online sales.
Because we have experience in transport ranging from professionals to private collectors in the art market; we are able to provide packaging solutions and the level of competence needed to ship your items in security. We also handle administrative formalities.
- You are: an exporter of equipment or industrial machines, spare parts, active in the field of transportation
Because we have 60 years of experience in this business; we respond quickly and we know what the term urgent means; because we find solutions at a lower cost; and finally, because packaging is a craft that is best learned through experience.
- You are: an animal owner, a cattle exporter, professional animal transporter
Because there are not many choices when it comes to the packaging of live animals; because we have no room for error when it comes to the transport of animals; because you want the best security for the animals.
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2 / Why did we choose the name Embelco for our company?
To understand the origin of the name Embelco, we must go back to the founding of the company in 1948, more than 60 years ago. Embelco is the contraction of the words "emballage", "Belgium", and "Congo." Back then, the activity of the company was centered on packaging and the supply of custom wooden crates for trade between Belgium and Congo. Embelco was then defined as a crate. With the development of shipping containers and the loss of our colony, we had to develop our business. The Embelco name remained but now means "Emballage Belgium Intercontinents." We have come a long way since the creation of the company because we have developed in the packaging and transport of art, in storage, and in the packaging and shipment of live animals, all while keeping great customers in the packaging industry
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3 / What is the spirit of the company?
Our company can be described as a family company for three reasons. Primarily because the management of the company has successfully been in the hands of several generations up until this day. Second, we find it important to treat our staff with respect because we are all members of the same family
Finally, it is in this family spirit that we build relationships with our customers.
A family team means mutual trust, flexibility, understanding, courtesy and commitment.
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4 / Can you describe Embelco's activities?
We describe ourselves as packers, shippers and transportation brokers in three different areas:
- art, furniture and antique objects
- industrial equipment, regulated products
- live animals
In addition, we have constructed a furniture storage and self-storage department.
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5 / What do you mean by the art and antiquities department?
This department deals exclusively with art, antiques, furniture and other fragile objects. We relieve you of all the constraints related to the packaging, transportation, storage and paperwork required for the movement and shipping of art and cultural property. Whatever the location of departure/arrival of your property, you will benefit from the expertise of our teams and our specialized carriers. With our guarantee of expertise and quality, Embelco positions itself as a reliable interface between art market professionals and their clients (buyers or sellers). That's why we never limit the scope of our services.
At the request of our customers, we can handle condition reports, photograph objects or pictures in our own professional studio, provide our offices for the presentation of works, serve as an intermediary between a seller and a potential buyer, recommend conservators or art experts, organize shopping trips for our customers, support our customers when they make purchases, and so on.
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6 / What do you mean by the 'service industries' department?
This category is as vast as the industrial world. It consists of the packaging of oversized goods or goods that do not have factory packaging.
This can mean machine parts, goods with high added value, regulated products (hazardous materials), machinery, etc.
We have three main types of clients in this area:
-Large industries that need packing and transport of non-standard parts.
-Purchasing centers that bring all kinds of material to our warehouse for export.
We manage these companies' orders, the packaging and transport of goods.
-Airline companies sometimes receive damaged packages or packages that do not comply with IATA regulations. We repackage the goods or repair the existing packaging.
We can also offer our transportation services for this department.
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7 / What do you mean by the live animals department?
Live animals also travel by air. Trade or transfer abroad of live animals requires a highly regulated packaging. Whether we are referring to farm animals (cows, pigs, poultry) sold to foreign farmers, or exotic animals (cats, dolphins, pandas, etc.) for exposition, or sports animals (pigeons, horses, dogs) or pets (dogs, cats, birds), we offer suitable and conformed packaging to ensure the well being and safety of the animals during transport. Our partnerships with specialized shippers allow us to offer a complete delivery service to the destination.
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8 / What do you mean by the storage/furniture storage department?
We differentiate between temporary storage and furniture storage. We have a main building, the headquarters of our business, where we can store goods upon their arrival in Belgium. Or the opposite situation is acceptable too, the goods can be dropped off by the client before they are ready to be transported abroad. This is a temporary storage solution not to exceed a few weeks.
Secondly, we have a separate building converted into individual units to be used as furniture storage. This 'self-storage' allows the customer autonomy with access to the space whenever desired. This is a long-term storage solution.
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9 / What types of works and objects can I send/ship using the services of Embelco?
You can trust us with all kinds of works, fragile and valuable objects: paintings, furniture, sculptures and trinkets...
We also deal with new equipment, industrial equipment, and animals.
The only restriction we impose is the sending of perishable goods, food and beverages.
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10 / What references do you have?
Both in the industrial setting and in the world of art, we are fortunate to have some famous names among our customers. In the industry, we can cite Besix, Caterpillar, Saint-Gobain, GDF Suez, etc.
In the art world, we partner with leading auction houses, art dealers and renowned collectors, prestigious fairs or sophisticated antique dealers. Our foreign customers are designers, artists, galleries, interior designers, museums, etc. Discretion in this field is important, therefore we are not able to disclose names. The best guarantee of our quality services is our longevity since Embelco has now existed for more than 60 years.
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11 / What kinds of people (senders or receivers) can place orders with Embelco?
Both senders and receivers can place orders, what matters is who placed the order with us and who will be our future client.
Note that the requester of transport (the one who will validate the estimate) does not necessarily have to be the one who pays.
In fact, the billing information can be different from that of the requestor.
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12 / What are the terms and means of payment accepted by Embelco?
Most of the time payments are made by bank transfer, check or cash.
At present we are not able to accept payment by credit card or via PayPal.
If our bill is addressed to a person or company based in Belgium, we agree to receive payment of our invoice after the provision was made within 30 days from the invoice date.
If our bill is addressed to a person or company based abroad (often the receiver), we ask for full payment of our invoice before the goods leave our package warehouses.
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13 / Do we absolutely have to do the packing and transport via Embelco?
No, our services are per request. You may decide to entrust us with the packaging portion, the transportation portion or the storage portion. In any case, you can entrust us with all the stages of the shipment.
Nevertheless, you will find that in many cases it is more financially advantageous and less binding to let us handle the entire shipping process.
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14 / Do you position yourself as an intermediary during purchases and sales?
Under no circumstance should Embelco be commissioned during purchases or sales. We recognize the importance of keeping our neutrality and being involved in purchases or sales is detrimental to our image. We are pleased to inform our customers about good places or to bring together people with a common interest without ever taking a commission for these transactions.
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15 / What are Incoterms?
Incoterms are three-letter trade terms used to define the"rights and duties"of buyers and sellers participating in international and domestic trade. From the Incoterms, we know where the responsibilities of the freight forwarder begin and end. They basically define the point or place where the final customer will take charge of his goods. Below you will find the principal Incoterms:
EXW: Ex Works, often used when making an initial quotation for the sale of goods without any costs included, charges for loading and clearing goods are on the buyer (suitable only for domestic and national transactions);
FCA: Free Carrier, goods cleared and loaded in the country of departure at the seller or carrier's place;
CPT: Carriage Paid To, delivery to the primary carrier, charges from unloading to mode of transport, no transportation insurance;
CIP: Carriage and Insurance Paid To, idem CPT, with transportation insurance purchased by the seller on behalf of the buyer;
DAT: Delivered At Terminal, goods (unloaded) delivered on the designated place, in the sea, river, air, road or rail terminal (import clearance, and post-routing paid by the buyer);
DAP: Delivered At Place, goods (not unloaded) made available to the buyer in the importing country to a place specified in the contract (unloading, import duty/taxes/customs costs paid by the buyer)
DDP : Delivered Duty Paid, goods (not unloaded) delivered to final destination, customs clearance and import taxes charged to the seller
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16 / Is it possible to use Embelco's experience for assistance in handling only?
No problem. We can provide you with qualified staff to assist you with relocations, fairs, or exhibitions. We can take care of the installation, mounting, or unmounting of your pieces.