News bulletin – tanks and logistics

NEWS BULLETIN

TANKS & LOGISTICS

SUTTONS WORKS AT HOME

Suttons International has opened up its tank repair and refurbishment shop (above) to its customers, after refurbishing more than 120 of its own tank containers since moving the service in-house nearly a year ago. Suttons says it made the move “in response to demand for its services around the world and to revamp its existing international tank container fleet”.

John Sutton, CEO of the Suttons Group, says: “The new custom-built workshop helps us to keep the fleet up to the high standards our customers expect and is a continuation of our long-term investment plan. Before any refurbishments take place a thorough inspection of the tank is carried out to establish current condition. If a repair is needed an estimate is raised of the likely time and cost to bring it up to standard.”

Suttons’ in-house team can handle around 12 tanks per month and, John Sutton says, “it’s paying dividends in terms of smartening up the fleet at a competitive price”. Suttons has always offered a cleaning service to its customers but, Sutton adds, “offering full tank refurbishment increases the condition of the fleet and shows our commitment to the global market”.

Meanwhile, Suttons International has provided Border Force, a UK law enforcement agency under the Home Office, with a tank container designed specifically to help train officers in the detection of illicit goods.

“Suttons is proud to assist the Home Office in keeping the UK’s borders safe and secure and has supplied Border Force with a training tank that can be used to demonstrate where contraband items might be hidden to aid detection when freight enters the UK from overseas,” says Barry McNally, managing director of Suttons International. “As experts in isotank training, we were quickly able to fit out a suitable tank, based on our existing training design, to show how the tank could be modified to hide contraband.” Border Force will also use the tank container for demonstration purposes at courses and conferences around the world, with the potential to train other border agencies. »

Suttons International operates more than 9,000 tank containers, primarily in the liquid chemical and gas sectors, with operations in the US, Belgium, Germany, Singapore, China, Japan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, as well as its headquarters in Widnes in north-west England. www.suttonsgroup.com

FPS BECOMES UKIFDA

The Federation of Petroleum Suppliers (FPS) has changed its name to the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA). The main driving force for the brand name change is to be more inclusive of all members and reflect their operations (HCB June 2019, page 10).

The name change is reflected a new website (www.ukifda.org) and Twitter account (@UKIFDA). Email addresses now end in @ukifda.org but all other details, including phone numbers, are unchanged.

VAN DEN BOSCH GETS SOUTH AFRICAN LINK

Van den Bosch DMCC, the Dubai-based subsidiary of the Dutch logistics company, has struck a strategic partnership deal with Stacks Logistics, a South African freight forwarder, which became the local agent for Van den Bosch as of 1 September.

“With this partnership we aim to further develop our liquid bulk transport activities from and to South Africa,” Bart van de Vorst, general manager of Van den Bosch DMCC, explains. “The focus is specifically on the transport of liquid food products in ISO tank containers. The South African market offers huge opportunities in regards to the transport of liquids in bulk as an alternative to the traditional drums and IBCs. With the start of this promising partnership, we want to further strengthen our position as a tank operator on the South African market.”

Stacks will be the first point of contact for the South African business relations of Van den Bosch and will also be responsible for the further development of the liquid bulk activities from and to the South African market.

Managing director Olivier Vanreusel is delighted with the partnership: “We are excited to develop the liquid bulk activities together with Van den Bosch and aim to become a key player within the food and beverage logistics industry in South Africa.”

An additional advantage is that Stacks offers in-house customs. “We operate as a freight forwarder with our own customs department. This will enable Van den Bosch to offer their South African customers a full in-house door to door solution.”

Over the past few years, Van den Bosch has developed a strong position as a tank operator on the African market. Branches have been established in Dubai, Ghana, Ivory Coast and South Africa and this year investments were made in 400 new tank containers. “The start of this partnership marks a next step on the African market”, Van de Vorst continues. “Just like Van den Bosch, Stacks has a strong »

focus on Africa. The slogan ‘connecting Africa’ fits in seamlessly with our vision and ambitions.” Vanreusel agrees: “We share similar values, vision and focus. We aim to keep developing partnerships with Van den Bosch in other African countries as well and conquer these markets together.”

Van den Bosch has been represented in South Africa by Aspen International since 2016. While that relationship has now come to an end, Aspen’s owner, Gary van Niekerk, will continue to act as a strategic advisor to both Van den Bosch and Stacks.

In other news, Van den Bosch has rolled out a track and trace facility, FreightInsight, that provides its customers with real-time information on the actual status of their shipments. The online portal also gives access to additional information, such as the expected time of arrival, previous loads and loading reports. “With FreightInsight we meet the growing need for traceability, transparency and connectivity in the supply chain,” says Pirke van den Elsen, business development manager. Van den Bosch recently introduced an innovative package of additional logistic services under the ‘Transforming Logistics Together’ campaign and FreightInsight forms part of that initiative. www.vandenbosch.com

GIEZENDANNER ADDING CAPACITY

Giezendanner has broken ground on a new phase of construction at its logistics centre in Rothrist, Switzerland (above). By the end of this year, the state-of-the-art facility will have a new tank farm with two filling lines for acids and alkalis, doubling storage capacity, along with new warehousing for flammable substances.

Giezendanner Transport is based in Rothrist, in the Swiss canton of Aargau, and has a subsidiary, RTW, in Waltenschwil that specialises in recycling transport. Giezendanner also operates a German transport business based in Köln. www.giezendanner-rothrist.c