Michel Mittelmeyer

Michel Mittelmeyer, CEO of Meyer’s Group, talks to TBY about plane in the maritime sector, diversification, and education.

What plans does Meyers have in the maritime sector regarding sustainability?

We are working continuously on the pursue of alternative sources of energy and planning on the long term to include green energy as an option for the acquisition of new fleet coming into our operations. We are continuously working on the inclusion of sustainable ways of operations into our corporate culture and service delivery.

What is Meyer’s current focus, and how is the company diversifying?

Since the pandemic our has given strong focus on one of our most recent business developments in the agricultural sector. We are committed to introduce technology-based operations into the agribusiness and market in Panama and become pioneers in this area using technology Agri-IT applied to agriculture. Right now, we are working tirelessly into a long-term project on the dairy business and fattening cattle business. Technology is yielding better results today than 20 years ago. For us the next five years will be focused on agriculture, as we are trying to capture the as-yet untapped market. Maritime will still be our core business, but we have decided to assigned equal weight of importance to this project in the agriculture business. The maritime sector, it highly stable, and a long-term business for our group, as well as the agricultural sector is also a long-term endeavor.

Could you elaborate on your commitment to education and the related projects that Meyers is carrying out?

We are investing in our team, but also in education to prepare our people for the future. I still remember how, 10 years ago, when we first implemented our ERP SAP, and we could not find local resources with the knowledge nor the experience in this technology. Since then, we have trained hundreds of people on this technology and others to close that gap. We are now doing the same for our agricultural business, and all the new technology we are introducing to this business that requires the time and the training to form better teams and shape the future of this line of business for Meyers Group. I am sure that we will have the best technology in agriculture in place within six to 10 months. As a group, we area also investing in the education of the little ones, by being direct stakeholders and investors of a German College in Panama that includes elementary, middle, and high school.