X2 Antalya · 27 Apr – 1 May 2026
11 people.
700 destinations.
One partner short —
yours.
The Freight Hero is a Hengelo SME forwarder with our own booking platform. 15-second quotes, 2-minute bookings, FENEX-member since Feb 2025. We’re at X2 to find the right partner-agent in your country.
or meet Mike & Tristan first →
↓ keep scrolling — the story takes 90 seconds
chapter 0 · the film
01/03
From Hengelo,
we move freight,
everywhere.
Sea · air · road.
Always all-in,
always one number.
Eleven people.
Seven hundred destinations.
One partner short — yours.
↓ scroll
Where we are
Hengelo,
Netherlands.
Strategically placed in the heart of the Rotterdam–Hamburg–Antwerp freight triangle.Three of Europe’s biggest ports, all within a few hours’ drive. We speak Tukker in the office and switch to English when you walk in. FENEX-member since February 2025 — the seal Dutch importers actually look at.
We’re not the biggest. That’s why you can actually reach Tristan.
This is our first X2. If you spotted us at the bar, you’re early.
Who we’re looking for
We’re hunting
hero agents.
We have someonein almost every country. That’s the problem. We’re at X2 to upgrade from someone to the right someone per lane.
The 7 markets below are where Mike + Tristan can close deals inside the 4-day window. But we want to meet you regardless of where you’re from — 700 destinations across 196 countries, 130+ countries at this conference, and exactly one of them is yours.
- 🇮🇳India
- 🇻🇳Vietnam
- 🇹🇭Thailand
- 🇧🇩Bangladesh
- 🇰🇷Korea
- 🇯🇵Japan
- 🇦🇪UAE (Jebel Ali)
↓ scroll through the 7 priorities, then meet us at the open-call below.
Already curious? Your score lands on the X2 leaderboard during the conference.Your score lands on the X2 leaderboard during the conference.
▶ Play nowLane #1 · India
India.
Why this lane: IN→NL exports ~US$22.5B; Mundra >6M TEU annually; PLI scheme pulled Apple/Foxconn assembly in.
What we need from you: Tier-2 city FCA pickups (Tirupur, Coimbatore, Ludhiana) — empty repositioning costs and unreliable trucker networks add 4–7 days unless local agent has dedicated fleet.
Pitch baseline: Tirupur → Rotterdam LCL knitwear — pickup, AEO export clearance, AMS air option for late orders. Baseline: $75/m³ sea, $4.20/kg air, JNPT cut-off T-3.
Bar question“What's your in-house trucking radius from JNPT, and do you handle Tier-2 FCA pickups directly or sub it out?”
Lane #2 · Vietnam
Vietnam.
Why this lane: VN→NL exports US$10.24B 2023. Hai Phong throughput +12.8% YoY to 7.1M TEU 2024. $36B FDI 2025 in electronics/footwear.
What we need from you: Vietnam eliminated de-minimis Feb 2025 + rolled out Smart Customs; HS misclassification on 85xx electronics now triggers inspections + delays.
Pitch baseline: Hai Phong → Rotterdam LCL — current market $65–85/m³, 28–32 days. Baseline ask: $55/m³, 25 days, weekly Maersk/MSC sailings, EVFTA Form EUR.1 prepped.
Bar question“How fast do you turn around HS-code corrections from a NL importer when CBP-equivalent flags an 85xx line — same day or next?”
Lane #3 · Thailand
Thailand.
Why this lane: Laem Chabang 9.46M TEU FY24 (+9.1% YoY). ASEAN logistics hub for auto parts + electronics into NL.
What we need from you: 33-day transit Laem Chabang → Rotterdam means inventory-cost sensitive; need agent with reliable T-5 cut-off and proper FOB handover.
Pitch baseline: Laem Chabang → Antwerp/Rotterdam FCL auto-parts, baseline $1,650/40HC, weekly MSC. LCL <15m³ ex-Bangkok consol.
Bar question“FOB Laem Chabang — do you handle origin-side demurrage if the line cuts off and we need to reroll?”
Lane #4 · Bangladesh
Bangladesh.
Why this lane: BD→NL RMG exports +21.21% to US$2.08B in FY24-25. Knitwear +31.69%. NL is top-4 EU buyer.
What we need from you: Chittagong port congestion + monsoon ETA-slip (Jun–Sep); air-charter overflow into Dhaka → AMS at peak season (Sept–Nov), capacity constrained.
Pitch baseline: Chittagong → Rotterdam FCL 40HC GMG-quality cargo — baseline $1,800/40HC ex-monsoon, GSP+ docs ready. Air overflow Dhaka → AMS @ $3.80/kg consol.
Bar question“What's your Sept–Nov peak surcharge model — fixed GRI or floating per-week?”
Lane #5 · Korea
Korea.
Why this lane: Strategic add per Voorzitter — Korea+Japan kept on the X2 priority list for relationship coverage even if X2-density is medium.
What we need from you: Mid-size electronics + auto-parts shippers need a NL partner who can handle express air-overflow when sea cut-offs slip.
Pitch baseline: Busan → Rotterdam FCL electronics, weekly HMM. ICN → AMS air consol for sample/tooling shipments at $3.60/kg.
Bar question“Which NL receivers do you already handle, and what's blocking expansion into mid-cap shippers?”
Lane #6 · Japan
Japan.
Why this lane: Strategic add per Voorzitter. Japan-NL bilateral trade ~€20B annually; high-value cargo lane.
What we need from you: Premium-grade machinery + automotive parts demand white-glove handling and customs-precision; TFH wants a partner who can match Japanese service standards.
Pitch baseline: NRT → AMS air-freight machinery components, $4.80/kg, T-2 cut-off. Yokohama → Rotterdam FCL roll-cage automotive.
Bar question“What's your typical volume into Benelux today, and what's your acceptance rate on premium-grade exclusive consignments?”
Lane #7 · UAE
UAE (Jebel Ali).
Why this lane: JAFZA = bonded re-export node for Africa/CIS cargo TFH would otherwise miss; English-fluent SME forwarder density high.
What we need from you: KYC complexity in JAFZA bonded — customer-of-record rules vs. duty-free re-export require licensed in-zone agent or shipments stall.
Pitch baseline: Jebel Ali → Rotterdam LCL bonded re-export, baseline $48/m³, AEO-equivalent docs, JAFZA-licensed handler.
Bar question“Are you a JAFZA-licensed in-zone operator or do you sub-contract bonded handling?”
Open call · all countries
Not on the
priority list?
Even better.
X2 brings 600+ delegates from 130+ countriesto Antalya. Those 7 priority lanes above are where Mike + Tristan book meetings in advance. But when you walk past our table at the bar and you’re from somewhere else — that’s the conversation we actually need. Untapped lane, untapped relationship.
Any of these regions? We have clients shipping to / from them RIGHT NOW and are short on the local end. Come say hi.
Latin America
- 🇧🇷 Brazil
- 🇲🇽 Mexico
- 🇨🇱 Chile
- 🇵🇪 Peru
- 🇨🇴 Colombia
- 🇦🇷 Argentina
- 🇪🇨 Ecuador
- 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Africa
- 🇪🇬 Egypt
- 🇳🇬 Nigeria
- 🇰🇪 Kenya
- 🇿🇦 South Africa
- 🇲🇦 Morocco
- 🇬🇭 Ghana
- 🇹🇿 Tanzania
- 🇪🇹 Ethiopia
Middle East (beyond UAE)
- 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
- 🇶🇦 Qatar
- 🇴🇲 Oman
- 🇯🇴 Jordan
- 🇹🇷 Türkiye
- 🇮🇱 Israel
- 🇮🇶 Iraq
- 🇱🇧 Lebanon
Rest of Asia
- 🇵🇭 Philippines
- 🇮🇩 Indonesia
- 🇲🇾 Malaysia
- 🇰🇭 Cambodia
- 🇲🇲 Myanmar
- 🇵🇰 Pakistan
- 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
- 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan
North America & Pacific
- 🇺🇸 USA
- 🇨🇦 Canada
- 🇦🇺 Australia
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- 🇵🇬 Papua NG
- 🇫🇯 Fiji
Europe's edge
- 🇬🇧 UK
- 🇵🇱 Poland
- 🇷🇴 Romania
- 🇷🇸 Serbia
- 🇺🇦 Ukraine
- 🇬🇷 Greece
- 🇵🇹 Portugal
- 🇫🇮 Finland
Not on any list above? You’re who we’re really hoping to meet. Walk up at any cocktail — whitespace-on-a-map is a room Mike wants in.
The line on the coaster
Move FreightLike Heroes
Pause at sea
Hai Phong → Rotterdam.
25 days at sea.
Don’t keep scrolling. Hai Phong → Rotterdam is 25 days at sea. Open one of our games — your score lands on the X2 leaderboard. Top three after 1 May win: dinner with Mike + Tristan / jenever + TFH hoodie.
The prize
#1 wins dinner with Mike + Tristan on the last X2 evening. #2 and #3 get a bottle of Dutch jenever and a TFH hoodie shipped to your office.
X2 leaderboard · live
Top three slots — open.
Play during X2 (26 Apr – 1 May). Top three at 23:59 on 1 May win the prize: a free TFH-sponsored shipment sample + dinner on us at Antalya.
- 🥇 Be the firstwaiting…
- 🥈 Open · 2nd seatwaiting…
- 🥉 Open · 3rd seatwaiting…
🎯 Placeholder · scores to beat
Internal TFH baselines — not real submissions. Beat them and the leaderboard becomes yours.
- Tristan van de Worp 🇳🇱 NL · TFH4,800
- Mike Westera 🇳🇱 NL · TFH4,200
What you get when we partner up
Eight people
in Hengelo who quietly
make it work.
Once you and Mike or Tristan agree to test a lane, here’s who actually handles the shipments, the questions, and the dashboard you’ll log into. Tukker-direct: no call-center, no ticket-hell.
Martijn
Manager Operations
“If ops is loud, something broke. I keep it quiet.”
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“Een strakke logistieke operatie is het onzichtbare fundament van uw internationale succes.”
David
Freight Forwarder
“Five carriers, three time zones, one ETA. I make the parts line up.”
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“Wereldwijde logistiek vraagt om perfecte regie. Ik zorg dat de puzzel altijd past.”
Dominique
Freight Forwarder
“Big plans break on small details. I check the small stuff first.”
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“Het grote plaatje telt, maar het zijn de details die zorgen voor een vlekkeloze supply chain.”
Tim
Freight Forwarder
“Markets don't wait. Neither do I.”
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“De markt wacht op niemand. Ik zorg voor snelheid en flexibiliteit in elke zending.”
Andy
Freight Forwarder
“Customs rules are puzzles. I like puzzles.”
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“Douaneregels complex? Niet voor mij. Ik loods uw goederen moeiteloos langs elke grens.”
Nihal
Customer Service
“Best service? Answering before you've finished typing the question.”
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“De beste service? U informeren nog vòòrdat u de vraag hoeft te stellen.”
Burcu
Customer Service
“I'm only done when you can move on with your day.”
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“Elke vraag verdient een helder antwoord. Ik ben pas tevreden als u weer verder kunt.”
Nikita
IT Specialist
“Smart code so the dashboard does the explaining.”
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“Complexe logistiek simpel en transparant maken met slimme code: dat is mijn missie.”
Four reviews. None of them paid.
Lifted verbatim from the reviews carousel on thefreighthero.com. Aggregate score on the public widget reads 4.4.
“Simple, fast and very customer-friendly. Customer service like you rarely see anymore. You don't have a customer in me, you have an ambassador!”
Tycho RibbinkTransport · Jan 2019“I am very satisfied with The Freight Hero and especially with Mike. We transport many containers with this party and it has always been satisfactory.”
Dax van den BergE-commerce · Feb 2025“Freight Hero thanks you for the fast service during transportation from Asia. Competent advice on routing so that we could get the goods to our customers on time.”
VikteriFashion · Sep 2024“Freight Hero helped our company a lot in optimising our logistics processes. No challenge is too big, and they always think proactively.”
Sofian SpieringsWholesale (sustainable bags) · Jan 2025
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What we built
We’re a forwarder
with our own platform.
- 0sec
to a sea or air freight quote on our own platform.
- 0min
from a quote you like to a confirmed booking.
- 0+destinations
via direct relationships with carriers and airports.
- 0all-in price
no surprise surcharges. What you quote is what your client pays.
- FENEX-member
- GLSN-member
- X2-member
- KvK 75460149
- Founded 2019
How to connect
Find Mike or
Tristan at the bar.
Move Freight Like HeroesMike and Tristan are the only TFH-ers in Antalya, day one to last call. Wherever you’re from — priority lane or whitespace on our map — we want the conversation. WhatsApp is fastest. The other nine colleagues hold the fort in Hengelo while these two are away.
Where to find us
Trendy Lara Hotel lobby bar, daily from 18:00. Look for the table with the orange TFH coasters. If we’re mid-meeting, leave your card with the bartender — we’ll follow up before breakfast.
X2 Antalya · Trendy Lara Hotel · 27 Apr – 1 May 2026