Welcome to F&L, where senior freight logistics leaders & their teams shape their own international strategies through confidential, invitation-only roundtable peer & expert exchange, enabling them to implement a more effective response to market changes.
Agenda. The market is changing and, with it, every company’s ability to attract and retain customers. Building on benchmarking company KPI priorities across industry sectors, geographies and different roles in logistics & supply chains (F&L at Nike), leaders now … see [Agenda] tab.
Meeting date & location. 22-23 April 2026, North Sea Port (Ghent) & Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Dinner & evening programme 22 April.
What to expect. Leaders’ round-table discussion agenda including policymakers & academics, community-led, <140 participants, no sales pitches. F&L is a neutral (independent), non-lobby members’ forum. F&L meetings are based around debate, panel discussions, workshops & site visits rather than presentations, thus ensuring opportunity and full participation by all. F&L competition law & antitrust compliance policy.
Costs. €450 card/ €500 payment by invoice + relevant VAT. These discounted rates apply to F&L members: non-member companies pay €2,000 + VAT.
Help? Get in touch.
This event is generously hosted by North Sea Port & Port of Antwerp-Bruges, and other key partners are shown below.
The market is changing and, with it, every company’s ability to attract & retain customers. After benchmarking KPI company priorities across industry sectors, geographies and different roles in logistics & supply chains (F&L at Nike), practitioners consider how accelerated changes in global trade as reflected across supply chains, and new choices at the heart of the logistics hub are forcing everyone to change? What is the expectation for Europe’s competitive position and widespread desire for greater harmonisation, brought into the limelight by current requirements of Europe’s defence sector? Does the critical transformation of Europe’s chemical sector highlight key messages for every business? Where does “green” sit – in the corner, or a key action? As competitive pressures increase, leaders, senior practitioners and their teams utilise cross industry peer exchange for mutual benefit to consider their own position in the industry transformation.
Location: Ghent – see itinerary & address on ‘travel & venues’ tab
09:15 coffee, badges & a warm welcome
09:45, Welcome from Sofie Bracke (Alderman for Economy, Port, Trade, Tourism – City of Ghent), F&L Krzysztof Szmidt (President) and Philip Evans (Secretary General)
Establishing a value proposition in today’s market – change at the heart of the hub
Buffeted by a shifting international order, global supply chain models are radically restructuring including access to sustainable fuels, the emergence of E2E players and the requirement for asset ownership or access to capacity. Heightened pressure on European competitiveness adds to uncertainty. How are value-added collaborative solutions evolving at key logistics and industrial hubs? What is the impact?
11:15 cast off & coffee
Freight logistics: a hostile and volatile external environment and an EU internal market dictated by regulations and localised decision-making, not forgetting the nature of the European cost base. What is the source of a company’s competitive market position today? Will the Draghi report make a difference? How can each component of our freight logistics supply chain develop to offer a value-added solution?
Lunch & visit: Change in action
Driven by global change and particularly by war in Europe, the requirements of Europe’s defence sector bring into sharp focus longstanding concerns around land infrastructure and the need for harmonisation and consistency across Europe to support defence and other industrial sectors and their competitiveness.
Sector-based repositioning market signals? Today’s criteria for sustainable (meaning long term) success? With a holistic view of market value-added strategies for the sector at sea and on land, we examine criteria and actions for our own value-added positioning.
16:15 disembark & transfer to Antwerp
19:00 VIP dinner & evening programme, Port of Antwerp-Bruges
Location: Antwerp – see itinerary & address on ‘travel & venues’ tab
08:30 – welcome coffee
09:00 Academic review – reflections on yesterday & what matters for sustainable commercial value creation tomorrow?
09:45 Strategic input for OKM (One Key Message) breakouts
10:30 Rotating through all OKM breakouts – one action that is my immediate priority & one action that is someone else’s immediate priority. Commercial priorities and actions to back up strategic decision making.
Coffee & biscuits
Technology [leaders will be announced] & Policy / legislation [leaders will be announced] cross all groups.
12:25 Everyone’s One Key Message summaries & what next?
12:45 Does the critical transformation of Europe’s chemical sector highlight key messages for every business?
13:15 Lunch, thanks, close, next steps
13:55; choice of visits
15:30 Close
This meeting is for senior business leaders & their teams; people who are actively leading industry today. There is a capacity limit due to venue sizes. F&L seeks a diverse mix, breadth, balance & blend of current industry leaders from 20+ countries, academics, policymakers and others.
Confirmed participants include the following:
AllChiefs
Arcese
Baltic Rail
Bertschi
Billiet & Co
BLS Cargo
Blume Global / Wise Tech
Brunngård Group
Cargill
CFL multimodal
CLdN
Cosco
Diplomatic World
duisport – Duisburger Hafen AG
Edinburgh Business School, Heriot Watt University
Elite Digital Logistics
Eraneos
European Union Military Staff
ExxonMobil
EY
Finnlines
Freightos
Julius & Clark
Kühne Logistics University
LKW Walter
Loadar
Logivity – Volvo Group
LyondellBasell
NATO
Nike
North Sea Port
P&G
Pioneer Point Partners
Pipelink
Plymouth University
Port of Antwerp-Bruges
Port of Barcelona
Port of Calais
Port of Hamburg
Port of Valencia
PureCycle
Rhenus
SBB Cargo International
Seerefine
SSI Schäfer
Tesa
The Quality Group
Transporeon
UIRR
Unit 45
University of Antwerp
Van Moer Logistics
Vega International
Verbrugge International
ViiA
VOS Logistics
WEC Lines
Participant list for F&L at Nike (Oct 2025)
Participant list for Poland (Apr 2025)
Participant list for Zaragoza Spain (Oct 2024)
are encouraged to arrive evening of 21 April and plan to leave Antwerp at or after 15:30 on 23 April.
Wed 22 April
Thurs 23 April
A mix of discounted sleeping hotels reserved in Antwerp for nights of Tues 21 & Wed 22 April 2026. Discount codes are in the registration confirmation email.
F&L is a unique business network for commercial senior freight logistics practitioners & their teams to shape their own international strategies through confidential, invitation-only roundtable peer & expert exchange, enabling them to choose more effective responses to market forces. Established 1994.
Mission – F&L has a single purpose: to exploit knowledge, skills and collaborative opportunities across the freight logistics sector to drive improved standards, learnings & the success of Members of the community.
How is this achieved? F&L is structured as a neutral (independent), not-for-profit, non-lobby, confidential, antitrust compliant Members’ forum and is registered in Belgium as an ASBL. Multi-stakeholder membership is deliberately balanced to ensure a variety of perspectives across a host of variables.
Members are global / regional heads of logistics & supply chain, CEOs & senior management focused on freight logistics across the supply chain, asset owners, founders of critical solutions, all industry sectors and transport modes, based across Europe & globally (list).
“The important thing is to avoid the ‘narrow’ trap & the echo chamber”
“Access to informed external views & sheer breadth which it is not possible to organise by yourself”
“Where else can you ask questions openly and listen to others doing the same?”
“Learn, benchmark & challenge”
“We make better, more informed, more robust decisions”
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North Sea Port is the binational port that combines the platforms of Ghent (BE), Terneuzen (NL) and Vlissingen (NL). It is the largest cross-border port in Europe and is characterized by its diverse industrial cluster and multi-modal logistics ecosystem. It accounts yearly for 12.7bn euros in added value and can count more than 500 companies in its port area. |
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Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the second largest port in Europe, with more than 300 liner services to more than 800 destinations, thereby ensuring worldwide connectivity. Every year, it handles around 280 million tonnes of international maritime cargo and it is home to Europe’s largest integrated chemical cluster. The port employs, directly and indirectly, a total of around 164,000 people and generates added value of more than €21 billion. As such, it is an important lifeline for the Belgian economy. |
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Cargill is a family company committed to providing food and agricultural solutions to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. We sit at the heart of the supply chain, partnering with producers and customers to source, make and deliver products that are vital for living. In Europe, Cargill is also an important supplier of bioenergy solutions, including Cargill Bio100, supporting the transition towards more sustainable transport and helping decarbonize the logistics sector. |
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Founded in 1956 by Hans and Rolf Bertschi, Bertschi is a family owned company headquartered in Dürrenäsch, Switzerland. Bertschi has established a leading position in the intermodal transportation of chemicals by rail, road, and water in Europe and is today a leading global provider of ISOtank transportation and value-added logistics services for the chemical industry. This includes a global offering in freight management as well as several Bertschi logistics facilities across Europe and in Asia. |
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Billiet & Co is a reputed business law firm providing a range of services in commercial and contract law; conflict (re)solution; asset recovery, insolvency and (re)structuring procedures, and EU regulatory and competition law. Its team is at the forefront of current and future legal practices and is committed to using their knowledge and experience to deliver excellence. |