Laparkan announces new shipping agent in Florida

Shipping to the Caribbean from the Florida Gulf Coast region will become more convenient with the official opening of HBT Shipping, an authorised master cargo agent of Laparkan Shipping, last weekend.
Laparkan, in a release, quoted HBT Shipping Operations Manager Wesley Phillibert as saying that the opening of the company’s 8000-square-foot warehouse, along with the introduction of its ocean and air cargo packaging and shipping services under the Laparkan brand, will provide residents of Fort Myers, Naples, Port Charlotte, Venice, Lehigh, Captiva Island, Bonita Springs, Northport and Immocales with convenient pick-up, packaging and shipping services to the Caribbean region and further afield.
“There are significant communities of Caribbean nationals in these cities, including those who come here to work under the seasonal farm worker and hotel worker programmes. These residents often have need for shipping services and quite often have to travel to south Florida to transact their shipping business. That will no longer be necessary. In fact, we will also be providing free transportation twice weekly for the farm and hotel workers, to the main shopping centres, as well as providing them space in our warehouse where they could store their purchases until they are ready to pack their barrels, boxes and containers,” Phillibert explained.
There are more than 3000 seasonal farm and hotel workers in the Florida Gulf region, a majority from Jamaica. There are also sizeable communities of Haitians, Barbadians and Guyanese residents in that region.
“We are happy to be operating under the Laparkan brand, because it is well-known and respected for its range of products, good customer service and competitive pricing. The products and services really fit the needs of the people we will be serving,” he said.
The HBT management team has been undergoing orientation at Laparkan’s corporate headquarters and main warehouse in Miami recently, familiarising themselves with the state-of-the-art Laparkan Freight Management System (LFMS) technology in addition to procedures and regulations required by government agencies such as the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), U.S. Customs and the Transportation Security Administration.
Laparkan Chairman Glen Khan said the sizeable Caribbean communities in those areas of Florida deserve to have convenient, affordable, customer-friendly and efficient service, and the Laparkan/HBT alliance would certainly be fulfilling that need.
The grand opening of the HBT warehouse and packing facility located at 2801 Michigan Avenue in Fort Myers kicked off at 14:00h on Saturday with the ribbon cutting and official ceremony at 17:00h.