The Spirit of the Sea

Commerce today occurs in an infinitely more complex world. Yet, with all the changes that have occurred, the challenges that faced the ancient seatraders, challenges of unstable vessels, treacherous seas and uncommon weather, have really only been replaced by new variations. In today's world we still deal with limitations of technology, turbulent markets and political change. The world of commerce is sometimes calm, often turbulent, filled with unknowns. Like the sea. And like the seafarers of old, modern traders continue to push back the boundaries of our world, defining new ways of doing business, new trading partnerships, new opportunities.

The Spirit of Commerce

For hundreds of years, the sea was the conduit of trade, and trade was the access to power. Seafaring traders shuttled across the warm seas carrying goods to the world, the world as they knew it. As early a 300 B.C., Greek traders loaded specially designed trading ships like the Kyrenia with almonds, millstones and amphorae of wine to trade in far off Alasia, an early name for Cyprus.

Several hundred years later, the sea gave its power to the Dutch, who became the world's leading traders. In the early 1600s, this nation and its venturers commanded the sea trading routes, supplying close to half the world's shipping. Expanding trade made Amsterdam the world's major commercial city, and the Dutch enjoyed the world's highest standard of living. These early Dutch explorers discovered new sea routes and fishing grounds. They pushed back the boundaries of the world, expanding the horizon beyond what anyone had known or imagined up to that time. They introduced exotic silks, pungent teas and spices that the world of Europe had never seen before.

As the world became more complex, so did the routes of trade. Today goods still move along trading routes by land, by water, by air; they also move paper, by fax, electronically, digitally. Yet the symbol of the sea remains, as a channel of commerce, a highway of trade reaching places and people beyond the horizons we can see.

The Spirit of Emergo

At Emergo, we believe the spirit of opportunity still drives people to venture into new territory, to explore the boundaries of our world as we know it. Like the mariner in the days of Alexander the Great, or the climber moving towards the top of Mount Everest, or the engineer defining new possibilities for technology, there are adventurers who cannot stop from venturing.

These people share a curiosity, a determination to find a new way, and a courage in overcoming fear of what is now unknown. They share an ability to understand change, to apply what they know, and to learn. These are the people that form Emergo today. They are the modern seafarers, explorers who see the world in all its opportunity. Their exploration will be what Emergo becomes as we venture forward.

Early venturers were carried into the unknown, to discover new riches and opportunities for commerce, in ships such as the Kyrenia. This vessel was solid, efficient and, for its time, incorporated many innovations in its construction. It is the oldest seagoing vessel ever found and remains a symbol of man's earliest venturings upon the sea. We chose the Kyrenia as the symbol for our company as we venture forward into the future.