News bulletin – tanks and logistics

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKS & LOGISTICS

AMSTERDAM WAREHOUSE BOOST

CJ Hendriks has opened a new 6,700-m2 warehouse for packaged hazardous goods in Amsterdam’s Schiphol region. The facility is designed particularly to handle ‘PSG15’ substances, which are mainly used in the automotive and chemical industries, but also in care products and foodstuffs. These include such products as paints and inks, lube oils, adhesives, deodorants and other aerosols, automotive batteries and other liquids. Up till now, the storage of such products in the Netherlands has generally take place around Rotterdam.

“With the new PGS15 warehouse, CJ Hendriks Group is facilitating the increasing demand for specialist storage in our region,” says Femke Brenninkmeijer, director of energy, cargo and offshore at the Port of Amsterdam. “Widening the range of logistics services in the region will improve the business climate. With this in mind, we see the expansion at CJ Hendriks Group as an important development in our region.”

Construction of the new unit (below) began in March 2018; it is said to be “climate-neutral” and is designed with a flexible layout to cope with changing demand. It features a carbon dioxide fire extinguishing system. www.hendriksams.com

VTG GETS SMART

VTG is to equip its entire tank container fleet with ‘Globehopper’ sensors developed by Nexxiot, which will track the tanks’ location and condition around the world. Equipment of the 9,000-strong fleet is due to commence in spring of 2020.

“Our solution enables VTG to call up information on the cargo, condition and punctuality of its tank containers at any time. Our service works worldwide and across all modes of transport. In this way, VTG can guarantee its customers more transparent transport for liquid and temperature-controlled products,” says Helmut Kaspers, CEO of Nexxiot.

“Security and transparency in the supply chain are enormously important for our tank containers and we welcome every opportunity to further optimise this,” adds Jan Röbken, managing director of VTG Tanktainer. “We want to make efficient use of the opportunities offered to us by new technologies. Nexxiot has extensive experience in the digitised supply chain, especially in rail freight, and is now our strategic partner in the digitisation of our global tank container fleet.”

The latest generation of Globehopper internet of things (IoT) sensors, introduced in May 2019, is certified with the ATEX markings IIC and IIIC. This allows their operation even in areas where there is a constant risk of explosion, such as during the loading and unloading of tank containers.

To supplement the Globehopper sensors, Nexxiot has developed a software solution to analyse the information they collect. The company offers a complete infrastructure with a cloud-based platform for processing the data from the sensors. For VTG, this information will be fed directly into the company’s systems via an integrated solution from 2020. Nexxiot and VTG are working closely together to design the solution - from the devices up to the gained information. www.nexxiot.com www.vtg.com

RABEN BIG IN BULGARIA

Raben Group opened its first depot in Sofia, Bulgaria, at the beginning of November. “Our presence in Bulgaria gives us the opportunity to make a bridge between Raben Group and the south-eastern part of Europe stronger. Turkey, Greece and Balkan countries have a solid presence on the trade maps of Bulgaria, which will help us to contribute to the future development of our business,” says Tomasz Nieżwicki, director of CEE region at Raben. Bulgaria has been seen as one of the booming economies of eastern Europe and this new depot will focus on the automotive, chemical, textile and food processing industries. Raben Logistics Bulgaria is planning to develop its business activity to cover the whole country, providing high-quality services in the field of domestic and international distribution (LTL, FTL). The company is planning to implement major international connections to countries such as Germany, Romania, Italy, Poland and Hungary, where Raben already has its own operations. www.raben-group.com

LESCHACO GOES DIGITAL

Logward, a fully independent subsidiary of Leschaco, has left beta phase and announced its market entry with active product commercialisation. Logward is a digital freight forwarding services provider – specifically targeting container shippers – that was created to identify new business opportunities, develop business models and provide new digital freight forwarding services.

Logward describes itself as ‘Supply Chain Management as a Service’, with four central components: rate and allocation management; planning shipments, including customs clearance and creating packing lists; the actual handling of the transport; and business intelligence functions across the supply chain. An expansion of the services specifically for air freight is in development.

In other news, Leschaco’s Belgian and Brazilian companies have been granted Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status. “The AEO certification is a great success for the Leschaco branches in Belgium and Brazil and a further important step towards continuous efficiency and quality improvement in the operational business for the customers,” the company states. “AEO-certified companies have passed through an extensive audit process by the customs authorities and are therefore considered to be fully compliant with local regulations.” www.leschaco.com

SCHMIDT OPENS IN RUSSIA

KSS RUS, a subsidiary of Karl Schmidt Spedition, formally opened a logistics centre for the polymers sector in the Vorsino Industrial Park at Kaluga, Russia on 8 October. The site occupies 45,000 m2 and has a rail terminal to receive containers; it offers packaging, storage and shipping of polymer materials for Russian and international customers and has an expected annual throughput capacity of 500,000 tonnes.

Part of the multimodal Freight Village Vorsino transport and logistics centre, the new facility is ideally located in the greater Moscow area for the distribution of goods coming in to the region from production sites in eastern Russia, as well as acting as a hub for the distribution of imports from western Europe. www.schmidt-heilbronn.de

GREENER, CLEANER HOYER

Hoyer reports that it achieved a 4 per cent reduction in pollutant emissions on a tonne-kilometre basis during 2018 compared to the year before, representing an improvement of more than 20 per cent within a decade. The achievement reflects an increasing use of intermodal transport, particularly in tank containers, and the use of ‘Smart Tanks’ to help improve efficiency in resource planning.

“This puts the Hoyer Group well on the way to achieving the environmental targets that we have set,” says CEO Ortwin Nast.

Smart Tanks enable more efficient resource planning, decreasing the number of empty runs, as well as reducing costs, Hoyer says. Fitting tanks with sensors provides discrepancy alarms and considerably improves transport security. Investment in vehicles with Euro-6 engines also has a positive effect on environmental performance. Almost 100 per cent of Hoyer’s trucks in Europe are scheduled to be equipped to this standard by 2020, and it is also trialling the use of LNG and CNG trucks with significantly lower emission engines. www.hoyer-group.com

NEW HEAD FOR TRANSPOREON

Transporeon has appointed Stephan Sieber, formerly managing director of SAP Switzerland, as its new CEO; founders Marc-Oliver Simon and Martin Mack will remain as active members of the advisory board, with Simon explaining the move thus: “Transporeon continues to be very successful in transforming Europe’s transportation market. Our solutions offer industrial companies and retailers as well as carriers a real benefit by digitalising processes, cutting waiting times and reducing empty mileage. We currently have numerous ideas that we want to pursue, in the areas of market intelligence and big data for example. Stephan Sieber is the ideal leadership personality to follow up on these ideas.” www.transporeon.com