News bulletin – tanks and logistics

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKS & LOGISTICS

TANK CLEANING IN AFRICA

Van den Bosch has opened a new tank cleaning facility in the port of Tema, Ghana (right), in cooperation with local partner Amaris Terminals. Van den Bosch says the facility, which opened in January, is already running at full capacity. It is built within a 40-foot highcube container and fitted with the latest equipment from Gröninger Cleaning Systems.

“In addition, the cleaning station is built in full compliance with European quality standards for foodgrade, Kosher and Halal cleaning protocols,” says Mark Ashton, commercial director of Van den Bosch DMCC. “With this, we support the innovative character of Van den Bosch. The new technology enables us to focus on providing sustainability and allows us continue our focus on the development of import & export, and liquid bulk solutions, amongst other things.”

The new cleaning facility replaces the company’s first depot in West Africa, opened in 2016. Van den Bosch is now working on a second cleaning facility in the region, in Abidjan in Ivory Coast. www.vandenbosch.com

SPANISH HOME FOR ECOLAB

H Essers will this month bring online a dedicated warehousing facility for Ecolab, a specialist in water and hygiene chemicals, in Spain. The two companies have been working together since 1995 in Belgium and H Essers has since added facilities for Ecolab in Denmark and Romania. Ecolab was looking for a similar facility in the Iberian peninsula, which H Essers has been able to provide following its acquisition of Coral Transport & Stocks last year.

“The right licences had already been granted and Coral had a Seveso warehouse that would be perfect for Ecolab,” says Lieven Severijns, business unit manager south at H Essers. “The added value of the takeover became immediately apparent with these assets: both the knowledge and the infrastructure were readily available.”

“Our years of experience with H Essers and their acquisition of Coral created a perfect symbiosis between the local expertise and licences on the one hand and H Essers’ extensive knowledge of customers, systems and processes on the other,” says Joachim Giesler, director of warehousing EMEA at Ecolab. “Thanks to their customised approach, the integration went very smoothly and it allowed us to take a major step into southern Europe, practically risk-free.” www.essers.com

MORE FOR RHENUS IN INDIA

Rhenus India has extensive plans to expand its transport and logistics portfolio this year, in response to continued annual business growth of 20 to 30 per cent since 2010. It will focus particularly on environmentally sustainable products and services, as well as new airfreight and cross-border road freight routes in the region.

In the chemicals sector, Rhenus India opened a new warehouse in Gurugram, some 30 km south-west of New Delhi, last month and is scheduled to open another chemical warehouse in May in Bhiwandi, near Thane in Maharastra. This follows the opening of a new multi-user chemical warehouse in Chennai last year.

“Customers lie in the forefront of our strategy,” says Vivek Arya, managing director of Rhenus India. “Rhenus India will continue to invest in people, resources and infrastructure, while keeping a long-term view of growth in mind. Digital Excellence, HR Excellence and Customer Centricity will be the pillars of our future growth.” www.rhenus.group

GREEN AND GOLD AT VAN MOER

Van Moer Logistics has achieved a golden rating from Ecovadis for its bulk and tank container division, reflecting its investment in initiatives to improve sustainability in its operations. In particular, Van Moer last year spent some €2.8m in the renovation of its tank

cleaning facility in Zwijndrecht, Belgium, making use of the most recent technologies to improve performance and reduce energy and water consumption.

Van Moer’s transport division received a silver rating. It is continuing to reduce its environmental impact, having introduced its first dual-fuel hydrogen truck at the end of 2021. It now has has 10 per cent of its fleet running on natural gas, while the rest of its vehicles have Euro 6 engines. Its planning department has upgraded its planning system to minimise empty runs and introduced coaching for drivers to encourage them to work economically. vanmoer.com

PREMIER SITE FOR QUEBEC

Premier Bulk Systems, a subsidiary of Heniff, has partnered with KIK Carrier to open an operating terminal in Boucherville, Quebec, expanding its bulk liquid chemical transport business into the Quebec market. KIK’s Karl Fillion has been appointed as regional manager.

“This transaction enhances our customers’ ability to leverage the resources and services of our organisations across the North American liquid chemical supply chain,” says Kevin Berry, president/CEO of Premier Bulk Systems. “Premier has been actively seeking terminalisation in the Quebec market for some time now and with the partnership of Karl and his group, we feel strongly that we’ll be able to grow market concentration and be able to better service our customers. Quebec has a very strong and reliable chemical network that requires capacity. With the structured background that Premier offers, we will be able to effectively grow our service offering quickly and efficiently.” www.heniff.com

GREIWING EXTENDS BASF DEAL

Greiwing has taken over in-plant logistics at BASF’s site in Schwarzheide under an initial five-year deal. “We have been implementing successful on-site projects at various locations for years. The fact that BASF has entrusted us with this at one of their largest production sites in Europe shows a great deal of trust in our competence and makes us very happy,” says managing partner Jürgen Greiwing.

Under the contract, Greiwing is now responsible for the supply of raw materials, filling and decanting, and container handling. In addition, it handles the storage, loading and shipping of BASF products. Greiwing has hired 69 staff for the job, who have all received full training in the handling of dangerous goods and who operate around the clock, 365 days a year.

“With Greiwing we have found a very competent contract logistics provider with whom we were able to set up our production much more flexibly,” says Oliver Fuchs, project manager at BASF Schwarzheide.”I am convinced that both BASF in Schwarzheide and Greiwing will be able to draw valuable synergies from the partnership in a short space of time.” www.greiwing.de

SWISS COMBINATION

Giezendanner Transport has acquired the business of Lehnherr Transporte, which like Giezendanner is a family-owned, Switzerlandbased transport company specialising in the movement of dangerous goods in tanks and packaged form. Lehnherr is now nearly 100 years old, while Giezendanner is approaching its 90th anniversary.

“Despite its constantly growing size, Giezendanner Transport is and will remain a classic family business. Personality, flexibility and a high quality standard describe our company philosophy,” Giezendanner states. “Just like Lehnherr, the Giezendanner name also stands for decades of experience in the field of road transport. With our additional knowledge and the appropriate infrastructure in the field of combined transport, we will reach new milestones together.” www.giezendanner-rothrist.ch