News bulletin – tanks and logistics

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKS & LOGISTICS

KATOEN NATIE’S LIMBURG FOCUS

Katoen Natie is to invest some €80m to expand its value-added logistics offering to the chemical industry. Central to the investment is a 12-ha greenfield project on the Chemelot site in Limburg, in the eastern Netherlands. The company plans a new 54,500-m2 warehouse and silos, with the site able to offer repackaging of chemicals, purifying of contaminated products, compounding and compacting services. The new Chemelot terminal is expected to be operational in the second quarter of 2020.

Further expansions are planned for the existing Nuth and Born facilities in Limburg. Another 10,000 m2 of warehousing space and 60 silos are due to be operational at Nuth by the end of this year, while acquisition of additional land in Born will allow construction of a new 35,000-m2 warehouse for the automotive sector. Katoen Natie is also investing in transport assets, planning to add 115 new trucks, 45 dry bulk trailers and 10 liquid bulk trailers this year.

“With this expansion, Katoen Natie affirms its position as the leading logistics and industrial services provider for the chemical industry in Europe,” the company says. “The implantation of its logistics platform on the Chemelot site will produce significant transport savings for Katoen Natie’s existing customers and reduce overall CO₂-emissions. In total, the 100,000 m² of added warehouse capacity and value-added logistics operations will create 75 new full-time jobs in the region.” www.katoennatie.com

BROEKMAN INTEGRATES VLS SITES

Broekman Logistics has completed the integration of the former VLS-Group sites in Belgium and the Netherlands it acquired last year. They are now operating under the Broekman Logistics banner.

“With these activities in Antwerp, and our recently opened newbuilt facilities in Venlo and Rotterdam Maasvlakte, we can lighten the burden of our specialty chemical clients from the three main logistics hotspots in Europe: Port of Antwerp, Port of Rotterdam and Limburg area,” says Willem Jan van Amersfoort, managing director of warehousing and distribution. “Besides that, we can offer new, additional value-added logistics activities; filling, bagging and drumming, to our present and future clients.”

Broekman now has more than 500,000 m2 of warehousing space in the Benelux countries, of which almost half is dedicated to the storage of dangerous goods. www.broekmanlogistics.com

STC SOFTER THAN BEFORE

Stolt Tank Containers (STC) has reported a first-quarter operating profit of $15.7m, down from $18.1m in the previous quarter and slightly below last year’s first-quarter figure of $16.2m, reflecting a usual seasonal decrease in shipments along with “continued softness in most markets” and “intensified price competition”.

“While market conditions have been challenging for the past several quarters, we anticipate a seasonal pick up at least through the first half of this year and remain enthusiastic about the long-term outlook for this business,” says Niels G Stolt-Nielsen, CEO of parent company Stolt-Nielsen Ltd. www.stolt-nielsen.com

BETTER, QUIETER RAIL TRANSPORT

VTG and DB Cargo report that their joint research project to develop and test innovative freight wagons has been completed successfully. The findings show that the wagons use between two and three per cent less energy and are even more cost-effective thanks to customerorientated adjustments and digital improvements in operations.

The trial involved car transporters, multifunctional flat wagons for steel shipments as well as tank cars. DB Cargo has ordered 300 new units and VTG’s CEO, Dr Heiko Fischer, says: “Our collaboration showed how rail transport can be made quieter, more costeffective and more energy-efficient. We are now carrying these findings over into our operations: the newly developed wagon types have been added to our regular rental portfolio and will be

available to our customers in the future.” The project was launched in autumn 2016 with test operations starting in March 2018. The project cost some €22.5m, of which around €18m was provided by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport (BMVI). www.innovativer-guterwagen.de www.vtg.com

EUROTAINER PICKS IMT

Eurotainer has chosen to equip it tank container fleet with telematics units from Intermodal Telematics (IMT), enabling worldwide monitoring for its clients. “In our decisionmaking process, we have done extensive tests with several telematics providers and have found that IMT excels on a hardware, software as well as support levels,” says Marco Beije (above), purchasing and technical director at Eurotainer. “Important factors that play a role in our choice for IMT are quality, reliability and thinking along with our wishes and needs. IMT has clearly set the standard for telematics in our sector.”

“Where in the past only tank operators and shippers were interested in telematics on their tanks, we clearly see a market shift where also leasing companies and tank manufacturers are seeing the benefits telematics can deliver them and their customers,” says Bernard Heylen, sales director of IMT. “Getting Eurotainer on board means a lot to us. It clearly shows that the market is ready for the next step towards telematics. With this partnership Eurotainer is clearly positioning themselves as an innovative market leader.” www.eurotainer.com www.intermodaltelematics.com

GIBSONS QUITS TRUCKING

Calgary-headquartered Gibson Energy has sold its Canadian trucking business to Trimac Transportation for some C$70m, with another C$30m for its office and shop facilities in Edmonton, Alberta. The deal finalises the strategic divestiture of non-core assets announced in January 2018.

“Through these divestitures, we have focused our business around our core energy infrastructure assets, significantly high-graded our quality of cash flows and have ensured that we are fully funded for all growth projects currently under construction,” says president/ CEO Steve Spaulding. www.gibsonenergy.com

WINCANTON WINS AGAIN

Wincanton has renewed its UK fuel distribution contract with Valero Energy for five years. The deal involves the supply of road fuels from Valero’s UK terminals to more than 700 Texaco-branded filling stations, involving around 200 deliveries a day and an annual volume of more than 2bn litres. The contract includes control of a vendor-managed inventory system, as well as the delivery of aviation fuel to East Midlands airport and the distribution of ethanol across the UK.

“We’ve been working with Valero for more than 25 years. In that time, we’ve built up a strong partnership with Valero and developed a real understanding of the needs of its customers,” says Chris Fenton, managing director of industrial and transport at Wincanton. www.wincanton.co.uk

DEN HARTOGH RENEWS

Den Hartogh has begun taking delivery of this year’s 88 new tractor units, destined to replace ageing trucks. The first four Volvo trucks have been delivered to the Rozenburg site in the Netherlands and will be used in Belgium; the remaining Volvo and MAN units will arrive across Europe in the coming months. All cabs are equipped with the latest comfort and safety options and have Step-D Euro-6 engines with eco-tuning software to help reduce fuel consumption.

Den Hartogh also reports that it is adding a number of new tank container (below) to its fleet this year for the dedicated transport of methylene diisocyanate (MDI). www.denhartogh.com