News bulletin – tanks and logistics

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKS & LOGISTICS

TALKE TAKES AIM ON ASIA

Alfred Talke has firmed up plans for its first venture in south-east Asia, saying it will start work in spring this year on construction of a 17,500-m2 dangerous goods warehouse in the bonded area of Westports Terminal at Port Klang, Malaysia (right). A second, similar warehouse for non-dangerous chemicals will be added afterwards.

“Westports Port Klang has great potential for the development of integrated facilities for polymers and chemicals,” says Alex Herreboudt, director, Middle East & Africa, at the Talke Group. “We firmly believe that the region and our facilities will be of great strategic importance to our existing and new customers in the years to come. We want to further develop the entire site and have committed ourselves to extensive investments. We are able to flexibly adapt to changing market and customer requirements and can offer services that are not yet sufficiently available in Port Klang.”

The planned dangerous goods warehouse will be unique in Port Klang and will also offer value-adding services such as refilling and packaging. Through the project, Talke will create a hub in south-east Asia for its customers, building on recent rapid growth in container traffic in Malaysia. Port Klang is the second largest port in the region, behind Singapore, and has become an attractive alternative. As part of the deal, Talke plans to be actively involved with Westports in shaping the future of Port Klang. www.talke.com

PSA TO BUY BDP

PSA International, the Singapore-based global port group, has agreed to acquire BDP International from Greenbriar Equity Group. PSA says it has been collaborating with its customers and other partners to offer supply chain solutions beyond port limits and this acquisition will add BDP’s global expertise in end-to-end supply chain services, which have specialities in the chemical, industrial, healthcare and other sectors.

“This is an exciting time for us, as BDP will be PSA’s first major acquisition of this nature – a global integrated supply chain and transportation solutions provider with end-to-end logistics capabilities,” says Tan Chong Meng, group CEO of PSA International. “Its strengths will complement and extend PSA’s capabilities to provide agile, resilient and innovative cargo solutions. Customers will be able to benefit from the extensive capabilities of both BDP and PSA, while accelerating their shift towards sustainable supply chains. We see this as a significant and strategic step forward in our vision to co-create an Internet of Logistics and we look forward to welcoming BDP into the PSA family.” “The synergies between BDP and PSA are apparent, with foundations built on service excellence, delivering value to customers and stakeholders, and by creating rewarding careers for our colleagues,” adds Mike Andaloro, CEO and president of BDP International. “With the extensive capabilities of PSA and their significant market presence worldwide, we will undertake a new chapter of growth with incredible opportunities to optimise global supply chain activities for our customers.” www.globalpsa.com www.bdpinternational.com

MILKYWAY INNOVATES

Milkyway Chemical Supply Chain Services has despatched its first ever block train of liquid chemicals from China to Europe. The train, carrying 82 tank containers with some 2,000 tonnes of butanediol from Zhongtai Markor Chemical in Korla, Xinjiang, departed on a 15-day trip to Ludwighafen, Germany, a distance of more than 8,000 km.

Milkyway says the new service, its response to the national Belt & Road strategy, greatly improves the efficiency of international logistics to Europe, shortening the cargo circulation cycle and helping China’s chemical manufacturers to become more deeply integrated into the international market.

Meanwhile, Milkyway has also commissioned a new warehouse complex in Zhangjiagang,

on the Yantze River in Jiangsu province, China. This is Milkyway’s first second-generation “intelligent chemical warehouse”, building on its experience with the first unmanned, explosion-proof warehouse opened in 2020. Milkyway’s IT team has spent six months developing the automation system, adding fully automated forklift operations and enhancing accuracy, further reducing operating costs. www.mwclg.com

N-W ADDS WEMMERS

Nijhof-Wassink has agreed to acquire Wemmers Tanktransport, effective 1 January. Wemmers, based in Evergem, Belgium, specialises in the transport of liquid bulk foodstuffs in road tankers and intermodal tanks, complementing Nijhof-Wassink’s expertise in liquid and dry bulk chemicals and animal feed. Wemmers also has operates two cleaning stations in the Netherlands.

“The possibility to add food logistics to its existing portfolio will diversify the range of specialised transport the company can offer,” says Erik Schiphorst, CEO of Nijhof-Wassink Group. “This will have a positive impact on the continuity of our company. In recent years, we have made huge progress in data analysis, efficiency and effective fleet management. We want to implement the same progression at Wemmers, a respected company that is active in many European countries.”

“At Wemmers, we examined the current market circumstances and various scenarios to identify how we could remain a healthy business in the future. An acquisition was one of the options,” says Paul van den Nieuwenhuizen, director and owner of Wemmers Tanktransport. “During discussions with Nijhof-Wassink we felt a special connection, and the right feeling. NijhofWassink is a close-knit, family-run company with a strong focus on its human capital. Incorporating our brand names Wemmers and Troll in the Nijhof-Wassink Group unites two companies that share the same DNA and focus. We can mutually benefit from each other’s strong points.”

On completion of the acquisition, NijhofWassink will be a specialist in the transport and storage of dry and liquid bulk goods for the chemical and animal feed industry and the food sector, employing 1,750 colleagues based in eight different counties and operating almost 800 different truck-trailer combinations. nijhofwassink.com wemmers.nl

E-COMMERCE FROM FORT VALE

Fort Vale has opened a new online webshop, featuring a wide range of spare parts and accessories. The shop, which can be accessed directly at https://shop.fortvale.com/en/, gives customers the ability to specify and order parts - safe in the knowledge that they come direct from the manufacturer. Fort Vale says it has made great efforts to ensure that ordering is a quick and simple process.

The site is so far only for UK customers but will be opened up to the European market early in 2022. It also features quantity discounts, special offers and flexible delivery options. “Fort Vale’s new e-commerce site has been in the pipeline for a while now as part of our ongoing efforts to make it easier for our customers to purchase branded spare parts and accessories, and giving them the reassurance that the parts they buy are of the highest quality possible,” says Graham Blanchard, global marketing director at Fort Vale. www.fortvale.com

MORE TANKS FROM GATX

GATX Europe has begun construction of a series of type 7182 rail tank cars for lease to its chemical industry customers in mid-2022. The 82-m3 tank cars, built at GATX’s WSO workshop in Poland, are optimised for the transport of ethyl and methyl chloride and vinyl chlorides, manufactured from P460/630 grade steel and equipped with hydraulically operated bottom valves. They also feature a DOT Telematik self-sufficient telematics system for tracking and tracing and are compatible with the Digital Automated Coupling (DAC) system, a project in which the company has played an active role. www.gatx.eu