Dublin headquartered Toga Group, which comprises multiple logistics businesses in the UK and Ireland, including Toga Freight Services Ltd and Toga Customs Services Ltd in Ireland and Toga Freight UK and Irish Sea Logistics Ltd in the UK, has formally opened its first wholly owned offices in Southeast Asia.
Toga Freight Services (ASIA) LLC has opened in the bustling port city of Ho Chi Minh, formerly known as Saigon, in Vietnam where Toga has offices in the vibrant freight forwarders village adjacent to the International Airport, with shared, customs bonded warehousing for cross-docking activities in the main Saigon Sea Port, the largest port in Vietnam.
Toga Asia is aiming to become the consolidator of choice for Asian manufacturers and forwarders for the UK and Irish markets primarily and will provide the only dedicated service direct to Ireland from ASEAN region and wider Far East markets.
Speaking about this major expansion, Group CEO, Robert Dickinson explained; “Initially we have reacted to customer requirements who had requested us to have a presence in the region to try and mitigate risks caused by global political and economic tension. During the due diligence process, which took over two years, we identified that Vietnam, and more specifically Ho Chi Minh City, is rapidly becoming the hub for sea freight from the region and the opportunities for a progressive Irish business like ours were very exciting”
Dickinson continued; “Furthermore, the connections between Vietnam and Ireland specifically have been strengthened in recent years and the investments in the region from Irish headquartered businesses continues to increase. It was a very easy decision for us to follow their lead and invest in the city also. We have already connected with several Irish owned subsidiaries who have expressed a desire to work with us”.
Commenting on the operational challenges of working in a country as culturally different as Vietnam, Toga Group’s Asia Business Unit Manager, Michelle Geoghegan explains; “As with all Toga operations, we rely on local heroes, and we are delighted that we have attracted some of the best freight forwarding and business development talent from the region to work for Toga Asia. They have fully subscribed to the Toga Family culture, and we have immersed ourselves in the culture of Southeast Asia. It is a wonderful mix that we all feel very comfortable with. Our service offering has sparked a huge amount of interest amongst the 400 or so forwarders in HCMC, such that we expect our new LCL service to Ireland to be at capacity in the first month, allowing us to speed up our expansion, investment and growth in the service and the region.”
The opening of Toga Asia at the start of the year represents the first of five new “business units” that Toga will launch during 2026, as Robert Dickinson goes on to explain; “Following three acquisitions and new depots in 2024, the following year was a planning and consolidation year, ahead of 2026 which has five major expansions scheduled. All of the developments are connected, including major alliances with UK and European networks, a physical presence in mainland Europe to assist with the Asian imports and UK exports and one more acquisition in the UK. Importantly for Toga, the expansion in 2024 and the planned growth in 2026 are all self-funded and Toga Group remains a debt free business, this allows us the flexibility to act quickly and decisively to react to opportunity.”
