OHL International builds on long success
OHL International builds on long success
PHILADELPHIA — Customs house broker OHL International, a division of OHL, will offer customers new “Ovation” software in the third quarter of 2014, according to Chris Ryan, business development manager, perishables.
“This allows customers more visibility on what is going on with their shipments,” Ryan said. “Information is the biggest thing, and when the product arrives they can ensure it’s as fresh as possible.”
This is just the latest step forward for OHL, which purchased the Philadelphia customs broker Barthco in 2006. “Barthco has been around since perishable imports began” in the Delaware Valley decades ago. “We are a local presence with a large group that solely works on perishables.” OHL specialists are liaisons for the clientele “to work as expeditiously as possible” in the application of trade rules of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Customs & Border Protection.
Ryan noted that OHL has offices throughout the United States, including Miami, Houston, TX, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco, so the firm has a local presence and relationships with federal and local agencies in critical locations. “That is what OHL is all about,” he said. “We report information to our customers in an electronic fashion or phone and we meet with our customers to ensure our service levels are where they need to be and that they have the right attention from us.”
OHL’s Philadelphia office is involved in serving exporters, including apples from the states of New York and Washington. But “we are heavily involved in import trades and some of those bigger accounts,” he said. Those accounts import bananas and pineapples year-round. Avocados and summer citrus are large-volume commodities for OHL in the summertime. “Our core commodities are apples, grapes, stone fruit and kiwi,” he said.
