A new depot for Moerdijk

IT’S ALL TECHNO

DEPOTS • THERE’S A NEW NAME IN MOERDIJK AND A NEW NAME IN THE GLOBAL TANK CONTAINER DEPOT BUSINESS. TECHNOPORT IS NOW OFFICIALLY OPEN FOR BUSINESS

IMAGINE THIS: YOU are one of the world’s largest operators of tank containers, with a rapidly growing fleet and an ever-increasing geographic spread of activity. You may have the highest quality tanks and a highly motivated sales force but, when it comes down to maximising tank utilisation, you are dependent on third parties to clean, maintain and repair your tanks.

Plenty of operators have found themselves in this position before and, for many, the answer is the same: build your own depots. Michael de Rijk, vice-president of Sinochem Logistics, was faced with the same issue and came to just that conclusion. And having made the decision to go ahead

TECHNOPORT IS EQUIPPED WITH STATE-OF-THE ART with construction in 2016, the first TechnoPort tank depot opened this year.

The first TechnoPort is located in Moerdijk, the Netherlands. It sits by the water at one end of Middenweg, with a barge jetty alongside. Planned and built over the course of 18 months by TechnoPort in close collaboration with Gröninger Cleaning Systems under the watchful eyes of depot manager Rien van der Ree, TechnoPort Moerdijk offers three wash bays – two for chemicals and one for foodgrade tanks – along with four repair and maintenance bays, and four fully automated heating stations. The depot has already been audited and certified according to ISO 9001-2015 and has undergone assessment under the SQAS programme.

FIRST IN THE CHAIN TechnoPort will add more depots across all continents over the next few years. The experience gained during the Moerdijk project will help when it comes to building these new facilities; after all, building and running a depot is “a little bit different” to the office operations that de Rijk and his colleagues are used to.

So why start in Moerdijk? One reason must be that the port has in recent years been quietly developing a role as a vibrant entrepot for chemical logistics operators. A drive along Middenweg to the TechnoPort site passes the facilities of several tank container operators as well as packaging manufacturers, reconditioners, distributors, freight forwarders, logistics firms and recycling plants. Shell Chemical, LyondellBasell and Solvay are just a few of the chemical manufacturers with production facilities in the port. And it is well connected to the waterways system in the Netherlands and Belgium and to barge and rail terminals.

Moerdijk also benefits from its strategic location mid-way between Rotterdam and Antwerp and from its comparative lack of congestion, both on the roads and at its jetties. A lot of activity involves the transhipment of containerised cargo – including tank containers – from and between those major ports and onwards via inland waterways into the chemical heartland in Germany or by shortsea vessel to the UK and other parts of northern Europe.

The Moerdijk Port Authority was represented at the official opening of TechnoPort in October by its CEO, Ferdinand van den Oever, and its commercial director Manon Baartmans. Van den Oever said that, for the Authority, TechnoPort is part of a broader strategy to put in place the infrastructure needed to support industry – and the chemical industry in particular – and to help meet sustainability targets, not least the modal shift of freight from roads to inland waterways and rail transport.

During his speech at the opening, de Rijk stressed that the TechnoPort development would not have been possible without the support of the Port of Moerdijk. But it is now open for business and he invited tank owners and operators to come along and see what the depot can do for them. HCB