News bulletin – tanks and logistics

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKS & LOGISTICS

DEN HARTOGH, SHELL BUILD IN ROTTERDAM

Den Hartogh and Shell Chemicals have opened a new logistics service centre (LSC) at the Shell Energy & Chemical Park in Rotterdam. The new drop-and-swap facility, the result of close collaboration between the two companies, is described as a “major step forward in sustainability, efficiency and cooperation”.

The design of the new site aims to reduce the driving distance on site, cutting carbon emissions, improve efficiency by cutting waiting times for drivers, and optimise and digitise logistics processes on site to free up loading capacity.

“Improved efficiency and sustainability go hand in hand in this project,” says Ruud Welleman, director of logistics service centres at Den Hartogh. “Reducing our carbon footprint, a higher customer satisfaction and improved facilities for our drivers are what makes this a great cooperation. During the design and building phase we operated as true partners. With this new LSC we are ready for the next years and looking forward to putting it into full operation. It is an exciting day for both Shell and Den Hartogh.”

Den Hartogh says it will expand the deployment of its LSC concept together with other service providers, as part of its commitment to collaborate in a sustainable and efficient way, expressed in its slogan ‘We’re better together’ in the chemical industry. www.denhartogh.com

BOASSO BUYS IN SPAIN

Boasso Global has acquired Spanish tank container haulage specialist Transportes Paz Ciria (TPC), based in Parets del Vallès, Catalonia. The company delivers tank containers throughout Spain and other EU markets, with a particular expertise in ADR cargoes, pressurised gases and isocyanates.

“We are very excited about the acquisition of TPC as it will supplement our Parets depot with critical transportation services for our customers,” says Joe Troy, chairman/CEO of Boasso Global. TPC’s former owners, Emilio Paz Ciria and Natividad (‘Nati’) Bergillos Ariza, will stay with the firm to help integrate TPC’s extensive transport services with Boasso’s depot services. “With the help of Emilio and Nati, this acquisition will expand our international footprint of full-service depot operations,” Troy adds. www.boassoglobal.com

DITIALISING COMBINED TRANSPORT

Kombiverkehr has kicked off a digitalisation project that aims to improve the efficiency of combined transport by speeding up the allocation of intermodal transport units to rail freight wagons. The project, Artificial Intelligence and Discrete Loading Optimization Models to Increase Capacity Utilization in Combined Transport (KIBA), uses methods borrowed from AI in conjunction with dedicated computation processes.

At present, combined transport across Europe uses a wide variety of transport unit types and rail freight wagons. The major challenge is to optimise the allocation of transport units to rail freight wagons on a generally valid basis and as a function of different target sizes. The fixed technical characteristics of all kinds of semitrailers, containers, swap bodies and rail freight wagons play an important part in this process, as do variable parameters such as the actual weight and nature of payloads, as well as freight timetables.

The aim of the project is for every inquiry about the loading of a transport unit to be met as quickly as possible by a proposal that optimises the positioning of the transport unit on the set of wagons deployed – and that at a time even before all information is available about what other transport units are yet to arrive at the shipping terminal for the same departure/destination parameters.

Kombiverkehr is working on the three-year project with a range of partners, including terminal operator DUSS, VTG Rail Europe, Inform GmbH, KombiConsult and the Technical University of Darmstadt. Germany’s Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport is supporting the project with €2.34m as part of its AI in Mobility innovation initiative. www.kombiverkehr.de www.vtg.com

MORE SILOS FOR SCHMIDT

Karl Schmidt has announced a major phase of expansion to meet growing demand. Storage capacity at its sites within Germany as well as international locations, both for bulk material and packaged goods, is almost fully utilised. The company plans to add 40 new silos at both its Duisburg and Leipzig sites, and four additional silos at Ludwigshafen.

Meanwhile, it will build a new bulk goods centre at Al Jubail in Saudi Arabia, with an initial area of 5,000 m2 of storage space, with options for bulk goods storage and handling. Detailed planning is underway and Karl Schmidt will make further announcements on the likely date of completion of each of the projects. www.schmidt-heilbronn.de

GATX VINYL CARS FOR VESTOLIT

GATX Rail Europe has delivered a series of newly built 7182 pressure tank cars to Vestolit, a specialist in PVC production. The tanks, built at the Inveho FWN workshop in Germany, will be used to transport vinyl chlorides.

“The 7182 pressure gas car is the latest example that GATX Rail Europe is a reliable railcar provider for customised tank cars,” says Roman Grünhagen, pressure gas car expert at GATX. “Lighter, made from P460/630 grade steel, and equipped with a self-sufficient telematics system, it is the right choice for many customers in the chemical industry. The innovative features include improved railcar safety, durability, and efficiency while simultaneously meeting all certification criteria.” www.gatx.eu

VAN MOER FILLS UP

Van Moer Logistics has started construction of its new 7,500-m2 filling plant at its current logistics site in Zwijndrecht, Belgium. Planned to open in April 2023, the plant will have fully automated filling lines with an annual capacity of some 100,000 tonnes, to decant product from tank containers to drums and IBCs. Van Moer’s Zwijndrecht facility already handles the cleaning, filling, repair and storage of tank containers and the new unit will create a complete one-stop-shop infrastructure.

Ineos Oxide is already onboard with the project, with business integration manager Kurt de Bruyn saying: “This project capitalises on the strengths of the port of Antwerp: the welldeveloped expertise of logistics service providers on the one hand, and the entrenched cluster of global players in chemistry and life science on the other. The integration of these strengths allows companies such as Ineos to focus on its core tasks and compete with global markets.” vanmoer.com

INOVYN TURNS TO HYDROGEN

Ineos Inovyn is to put a new hydrogen-powered truck into service in France next year, which it says will be the first such vehicle to be used to transport PVC in Europe. Deliveries are scheduled to begin at the end of the first quarter, carrying product from the Ineos Inovyn PVC plant in Tavaux to the Benvic site in Dijon. The truck itself was designed in collaboration with Benvic and GCA Trans Service, using a DAF chassis with the diesel engine being replaced by hydrogen fuel cells that give a range of 500 km.

“This is a historical moment for our company,” says Geir Tuft, CEO of Ineos Inovyn. “The use of hydrogen trucks for product deliveries is a key part of our sustainability roadmap which aims to drastically reduce our CO2 footprint over the next few years. The Tavaux truck will be leading the way, and we have already planned similar projects with other customers in Benelux.” www.inovyn.com

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