Our 2021 Network Meeting in Croatia

Universal Freight Organisation (UFO) has safely held one of the industry’s first network meetings since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020.

The event was held from 26-28 September 2021 at Hotel Croatia Cavtat, a leading five-star resort and conference centre enjoying spectacular views of the open sea and just 5km from Dubrovnik airport.

UFO President/C.E.O., Rachel Crawford said “We knew that there wouldn’t be as many people as usual but after such a long time apart, we felt it was important to take the first steps in enabling people to safely meet face-to-face as the world begins to recover from the severity of the pandemic.”

See gala dinner, meeting room and excursion photos.

The event welcomed representatives from Albania, Hong Kong, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey and USA.

Rachel added “We are delighted with the success of our first event back since the pandemic. We took every precaution to ensure our delegates safety and well-being and followed the evidence from the Events Research Programme. Additionally, delegates were provided with free, easy to use Rapid Covid Test Kits, UFO Face Masks and Hand Gel.”

The first chance that Members had to meet was at the picturesque Restaurant Alverede to enjoy dinner together, followed by the exclusive use of the hotel’s Posejdon Night Club where they enjoyed an open bar, catching up with each other and dancing into the night. The meeting was officially opened on Monday by UFO C.E.O., Rachel Crawford followed by a morning of 1-2-1 meeting sessions.

After lunch the group took a relaxing boat trip across the bay past Lokrum and City Walls to the Old Town, where they were taken on a short tour of the marble-paved squares and cobbled streets … plus an exciting cable car ride up Hill Srdj. When they reached the top, they were met with breath taking views. They then finished the afternoon with a delicious dinner in another stunning setting, Restaurant Victoria overlooking the Adriatic sea.

The meeting continued in the Congress Hall Ragusa on Tuesday with more 1-2-1 meetings, where delegates highlighted their specialist areas, discussed existing and new business. These sessions were especially important after the impact the COVID crisis has had on the industry …. there was much to discuss!

The event received fantastic feedback with everyone agreeing that the meeting provided “much needed positivity and laughter".

Rob and Erwin from Nunner Logistics (Netherlands) said “It was the first time for us to attend a UFO meeting. It was great that an international group activity could take place again. It was very interesting, we made good contacts and enjoyed the super organized program.”

“Thank you for a wonderful first experience with the UFO network. I was amazed by the great organization and attention to every single detail that you and your team put into this event. I am very pleased to be a part of UFO and glad to have the opportunity to keep these new relationships active and productive with my newly acquired partners!” Debbie M. Lawrence-Martinez, VP Logistics, Ansa McAl (USA)