News bulletin – tanks and logistics

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKS & LOGISTICS

NEW WAREHOUSE FOR DACHSER

Dachser has formally opened a new hazardous materials warehouse near Karlsruhe, Germany. The 21,800-m2 facility in Malsch offers 43,000 pallet spaces for chemicals, paints, coatings, adhesives and other products. “Constantly growing demand from the chemical industry made building the new facility an absolute must,” says Bernd Grossmann, branch manager at Malsch.

Construction began two years ago, with part of the warehouse being made available to customers in early 2019. The site, which cost more than €20m to develop, is now fully up and running and is connected to Dachser’s European network, with Karlsruhe seen as a pivotal logistics hub for chemical products. It also has good transport links to France, which is the largest market for German chemical exports.

The new warehouse (above) is divided into nine sections separated by firewalls. Each section has an automatic fire extinguishing system with both ceiling and in-rack sprinkler systems. The depressed floors are specially designed to retain product leakage and firewater, while barriers at the wastewater outlets provide increased groundwater protection. www.dachser.com

VTG ADDS CONNECTIONS

VTG has begun a test of seven sensor prototypes, equipping a large part of its rail wagon fleet with sensors to enable predictive and status-based rail freight car maintenance. In addition, track-side monitoring systems for a number of safety-related wagon parts – including the braking system, wheelsets and general wagon status – are also being tested.

“We are proud to be making a valuable contribution to more attractive, digital rail freight transport with this innovation project. Fitting our European fleet with cutting-edge sensor technology is pivotal to our digitalisation strategy,” says Sven Wellbrock, COO for Europe and Chief Safety Officer at VTG.

Meanwhile, VTG Rail Logistics has finalised the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Slovakian railway company Carbo Rail, following approval by antitrust authorities. Carbo Rail will be integrated into VTG’s Retrack railway company and will operate under the name Retrack Slovakia.

“Its operating licences for Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary make Carbo Rail a sensible complement to our Retrack network that sustainably reinforces our presence in Central and Eastern Europe,” says Günther J Ferk, head of VTG Rail Logistics Europe. “Working together under the same name, our commitment is to supply customers with seamless, single-source transaction services and end-to-end forwarding solutions along the most important transportation corridors all over Europe.” www.vtg.com

MORE ADBLUE FOR SUTTONS

Suttons Tankers has renewed and expanded its contract with GreenChem, one of Europe’s largest producers and distributors of AdBlue. “The renewal and expansion of our contract with GreenChem exemplifies our commitment to the safe and efficient delivery of products on behalf of our customers,” says Michael Cundy, managing director of Suttons Tankers. “With nearly a decade’s worth of experience working with GreenChem, Suttons Tankers are looking forward to continuing to provide outstanding levels of service and strengthen the partnership even further.”

“We are thrilled to announce the renewal of our contract with Suttons Tankers,” adds Chris Haynes, managing director of GreenChem. “Their strategic geographical presence, along with their leading levels of safety and customer service are well known in the industry, meaning that the expansion of this contract was a natural move for GreenChem.” www.suttonsgroup.com

LIMBURG TO GET NEW TERMINAL

Two local firms, Group Machiels and H Essers, are to build a container terminal in the Port of Limburg, Belgium to provide a sustainable connection between the Port of Antwerp and the Limburg hinterland. The terminal, located on the site of a former Ford factory, has a planned capacity of 350,000 teu/year, and will include a specific investment in facilities to handle dangerous goods in both bulk and packaged form, along with container heating, filling and drumming units.

“The optimisation of the existing synergies between Port of Limburg and Haven Genk offers unrivalled potential for the logistical development of the region and the strengthening of the trimodal access to the former Ford site,” says Louis Machiels, chairman of Group Machiels.

“After acquiring our own inland rail terminal, we are now investing in our own water terminal. The proximity of our mega site Dry Port makes this terminal extra valuable,” adds Gert Bevoets, H Essers CEO. “From here, we offer our customers at home and abroad solutions through smart combinations of road, rail and water. In order to respond to the market, it is crucial to continue to grow, innovate and invest. This partnership will only increase our lead as a synchromodal logistics service provider. At the same time, this plan provides a new impulse in the Flemish logistics sector.”

The terminal, illustrated below, is expected to be operational by 2023. www.essers.com

POLISHING WALKER

Walker Logistics has established a UK distribution hub for Indigo Nails, a Polandbased supplier of nail varnish and related products. Walker says it already has many of its administrative and operational staff trained to handle dangerous goods, which is necessary as nail polish is flammable.

“Setting up a logistics operation in the UK is part of Indigo Nails’ growth strategy,” notes William Walker, sales director of Walker Logistics. “Being geographically closer to the market means fulfilling orders for the UK will be quicker and cheaper than operating from a site in mainland Europe, which, in turn, will drive future growth.” www.walkerlogistics.com

DRIVE ON WITH IMPERIAL

Imperial’s German operation has recently won two storage contracts in the automotive field, involving the handling of sensitive products. One involves lithium ion batteries, which Imperial will store at two locations for a major global automotive manufacturer, committing a combined footprint of some 25,000 m2 . It will also charge the batteries prior to delivery to the manufacturer’s market network.

“The regulations governing the storage of rechargeable batteries are necessarily extremely strict, and our site at Rieste meets and exceeds these stringent criteria,” says Michael Pohl, vice-president, commercial, chemicals. “As the world’s automotive manufacturers accelerate their move to zero-emissions vehicle production, the demand for high-output lithium batteries will increase exponentially. Imperial is targeting this sector as a logical progression of its already heavy involvement in automotive supply chain logistics,” adds Markus Kanis, executive vice-president, industrial and chemicals.

In addition, Imperial has been appointed to handle and store air bags for a major car manufacturer. The contract will involve processing some 230,000 air bag assemblies and storing them in a fully certified hazardous materials warehouse, which includes constant monitoring of ambient temperature and humidity. All staff involved in the contract are undergoing specialist training.

“We are delighted to have been entrusted with this additional responsibility for a long-standing customer,” says Pohl. “As with our recent contract award covering lithium traction batteries, which are also classified as hazmat, this latest business win results from Imperial’s parallel expertise and resources in both the automotive and hazmat sectors.” www.imperiallogistics.com

RABEN BAGS FENTHOLS

Raben has taken full control of the Germanybased freight forwarder Fenthold & Sandtmann, following its acquisition of 50 per cent of the company in 2011. Raben will take over four locations, including a hazardous goods warehouse at Erlensee, near Frankfurt-amMain, and a branch at Leipzig Cargo Airport.

The deal provides Raben with first-class logistics locations, while Fenthols now has access to Raben’s Europe-wide network and its unified transport management system and the ‘MyRaben’ customer platform. The acquired land transport activities will be integrated into Raben Trans European Germany, with the air and sea activities bundled in a separate company, Raben Sea & Air. www.raben-group.com