Finnish bulker owner ESL Shipping has appointed Toni Ronnberg to the role of commercial director as it continues its integration of Sweden's AtoB@C Shipping.
The company added 30 smaller bulkers through the takeover in 2018, bringing its fleet to about 50 dry cargo vessels.
Ronnberg, born in 1980, will join in March from Stena Recycling, where since 2013 he has been responsible for its steel, foundry and manufacturing businesses.
Prior to that he held management and account management positions in the same Swedish shipowning group.
ESL managing director Mikki Koskinen told TradeWinds that Ronnberg's role is a new position resulting from the acquisition, and the integration of the two companies.
Ronnberg's brief is a strategic one in terms of developing sales and customer relations, he added.
Following the societal shift
His recycling expertise reflects the change in society as the Nordic countries move towards being fossil-free and using biofuels, Koskinen said.
"We wanted a good man with solid experience," he added.
The transport of recycled steel will be increasingly important to the company.
“Circular economy and low carbon solutions are the most important cornerstones of our new strategy. Toni Ronnberg brings us excellent knowledge from recycling industry and strategic sales for heavy industries," Koskinen said.
"We are definitely moving in the right direction and learning things. We want to develop the most environmentally friendly ships."
ESL does not have scrubber-fitted vessels. "We would rather invest in clean fuels like LNG," added the managing director.
Its two new LNG-fuelled bulkers are working well and early technical teething troubles with the cranes are now behind them, he said.
