Van Ameyde Krogius celebrate their 150th Anniversary this year. For the past 150 years, Krogius have acted on behalf of insurers, brokers, freight forwarders, shippers, and the marine industry at large. Part of Krogius’ services are Car Inspections and Claims Handling.
This year, Surveyor and Claims Handler, Timo Pullianinen, received the Medal of Merit for Twenty years’ service of employment with Van Ameyde Krogius. During the celebration event for the Medal of Merit, Timo reminisced on his first trip to Odessa, Ukraine, where he enjoyed conducting car surveys and discharging a vessel in the beautiful city.
Mikko Kuokkanen (left) and Timo Pulliainen (right) receiving their Medal of Merit for 20 years service with Van Ameyde Krogius.
Working predominantly in Hanko, Finland, Timo joined the company in 2002, after being approached by a friend at Krogius for a part-time job. Soon after, Timo realised this was where the future was where the work was much more interesting and diverse, so chose to become a full-time surveyor for Krogius. Timo began his career with Krogius as a car inspector and took on claims handling in 2007/2008, when the global coverage was extended from factories around the world to the dealership yard in Finland. This involves car damage claims related to transportation of new cars and marine cargo insurance claims.
Timo takes care of all car inspections for Krogius in Hanko, whilst also has trained many surveyors during the years. Recently, he was conducting car inspections in Norway and training the local surveyors. Krogius conduct around 50,000 car inspections in Finland this year and they work with over 15 different car makes at the Free Port of Finland, which has become the car logistics centre of Finland, where approximately 100,000 vehicles are processed and forwarded annually in Finland and a number of countries. The operators in the area form a unique concentration of expertise in vehicle logistics and equipment. Experts in logistics and closely related industries are located in the Free Port area. The predominant clients are mainly marine cargo insurers, but clients also include car importers, terminal operators and car carriers.
Principally, car inspectors check the condition of new cars after sea transportation, after unloading from the vessels, before delivery to their final destination. New cars must be in new car condition and all manufacturers have their own standards that we must follow when we complete the survey. Krogius hold the responsible parties liable for damages found, handle related claims and recoveries. Krogius’ car inspection activities are helping with the loss prevention and quality control activities of car manufacturers and insurers.
The most challenging aspect of work for Timo is the weather during the winter, where the temperature has dropped to -25 degrees with wind gusts of 25 meters per second. Timo enjoys the responsibility of the job and particularly inspections during the Summer and getting to inspect new models of cars arriving in Finland. During his time with Krogius, a memorable moment for Timo was during the inspection of cars in Hanko, when a deer came running towards him and he had to jump out of the way. Timo looks forward to his ongoing future endeavours and the 150th Anniversary Celebrations this year.
