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Many of the globes major forwarders, carriers and ports which handle specialized heavy lift, project and break bulk cargoes will be exhibiting at this year’s exhibition / conference. In addition to the bustling exhibition floor, Break Bulk Europe is hosting a 2-day conference with industry professionals addressing key issues related to break bulk transportation topics, speakers wills also discuss emerging markets for break bulk and project cargoes and review important sectors such as oil and gas, and other energy generation markets.

Tuscor Lloyds will be attending the 2012 Break Bulk Europe Conference & Exhibition, our booth will be set up at Stand 405, Hall 2 please come down and say hello.

For more information on this year’s Break Bulk Europe event please visit this link.

With this accreditation, Tuscor Lloyds has locked itself into legislative requirements which oblige all certified companies to measure the impact of their carbon footprint in the coming years. This will make the company a leader in Sustainable Logistics in Spain.

According to Borja Pelayo, manager of Tuscor Lloyd’s office in Madrid, “We decided to become pioneers in sustainable logistics. By applying for this certification we aim to demonstrate our strong belief in the importance of developing sustainable and environmentally responsible transportation. The carbon footprint certification is an important tool not only because it gives us an accurate measure of our current emissions, but also because it provides a reference point for our 2% annual reduction plan”.

There are two paths to achieve this reduction: by active policies on emission generating agents or, if not possible, offsetting current emissions by actions such as planting trees. “That gives us a very clear target to work towards.” affirms Pelayo.

Emissions

Tuscor Lloyds Spain has developed the certification project in collaboration with Agora consulting by verifying the CO2 emissions of its three offices in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia). All of its employees will be expected to look for savings in emissions, including commuting and work trips, company infrastructure, supply chain, and especially the transportation services it offers.

In effect Tuscor Lloyds Spain has certified the carbon footprint of its entire logistics operation – including that of its principal route, Europe-México, in both maritime container freight forwarding and air transport.

Tuscor Lloyds intends to push the carbon footprint project concept further. Pelayo says: “Due to forthcoming regulations on this matter, we don’t want to stop here. We also want to promote the initiative together with our key customers, offering them a carbon footprint study for the services we provide them as freight forwarders”.

Con esta certificación, Tuscor Lloyds se adelanta a las exigencias legislativas que en los próximos años obligarán a todas las empresas a medir el impacto de su huella de carbono y se coloca así a la cabeza de la logística sostenible en España. Según Borja Pelayo, director de la delegación de Madrid de Tuscor Lloyds, oficina desde la que se ha impulsado el proyecto, “creemos firmemente en la idoneidad de desarrollar una logística sostenible y responsable y por eso apostamos por ser pioneros en la certificación de nuestra huella de carbono, un instrumento que es importante no solo porque suponga una foto fija de nuestra emisiones, sino sobre todo porque lleva aparejada una reducción anual de las emisiones del 2%”. Hay dos vías para lograr esa reducción: mediante políticas activas sobre los agentes generadores de emisiones o, si no es posible en el primer caso, compensando dichas emisiones mediante acciones como la plantación de árboles, “lo cual nos da una dimensión muy adecuada de hasta dónde alcanza este proyecto”, asegura Borja Pelayo.

Emisiones
Tuscor Lloyds España ha desarrollado el proyecto de certificación de la mano de la consultora Ágora y ha verificado las emisiones de CO2 de sus tres oficinas en España (Barcelona, Madrid y Valencia), de todo su personal (desde que sale de su casa por las mañanas y va a la oficina hasta los viajes de trabajo), de sus infraestructuras y, sobre todo, de sus servicios. A este respecto, se ha certificado la huella de carbono de toda la operativa logística y de transporte de las mercancías gestionadas por Tuscor de origen a destino en su corredor esencial, Europa-México, y tanto para transporte marítimo en contenedor como para transporte aéreo. El proyecto de huella de carbono de Tuscor Lloyds va, además, mucho más allá. Según Borja Pelayo, “queremos impulsar esta iniciativa de la mano de nuestros clientes principales y proponerles el estudio de la huella de carbono para los servicios que como empresas transitaria gestionamos para ellos dentro del proyecto que deberán acometer globalmente de certificación ante la normativa que se está elaborando para ser algo exigido legalmente”.

The flat rack containers were loaded onto the vessel using a standard crane lifting gear and a Bromma spreader, all of the flat racks were loaded without incident and secured to the vessel using auto-twistlocks. Once ready the break bulk pieces began loading across the group of 7 flat racks and were positively located onto the flat racks using heavy wooded chocks, nailed into position on the flat rack beds. The cargo was further secured using webbing straps tensioned against the nominated lashing points of the flat racks, using 5t nominal and 2t LC webbing straps, each was tensioned by its own ratchet.

The 20ft standard container which was also a part of this consignment was loaded into a standard container slot, towards the forward part of the vessel with other cargo also designated for discharge in Haifa.

All of the cargo was safely loaded and secured without significant delays and responsibility was accepted by the ship’s Chief Officer for transportation to Israel.

The first part of this journey required the cargo to be transported by road to Felixstowe Port where it would be loaded onto the vessel. The cargo (weighing 35000kgs with dimensions 155 x 37 x 35 meters) was to be shipped as break bulk to Veracruz for the Oil & Gas Industry.

Due to there being no break bulk services between UK and Mexico, Tuscor Lloyds had to use experience and knowledge to arrange shipment of this break bulk piece on a standard container vessel. This type of loading method, whilst available in the industry can prove to be an operational challenge for many container lines. In order to achieve such method of shipment, special attention and care must be paid to the safe loading of the cargo and the securing by on-board stevedores under the deck of the vessel.

The cargo was transported by sea into Veracruz Port where it was carefully discharged from the container vessel directly onto our customer’s truck waiting in the port.

Our customer used to spend a lot of money moving similar break bulk cargo to Mexico. They used to ship via a break bulk service from Belgium and the costs were high. Our customer was extremely happy with the smooth operation Tuscor Lloyds provided. Their cargo arrived Mexico earlier than expected, and most importantly of all at lower freight rate than they would normally pay.

Readers will remember that Tuscor Lloyds Spain was a key logistics supplier to the project. The company moved the huge cranes used during the construction of the structure. The cranes, some of the world’s tallest, were supplied by a specialist firm in Spain. Tuscor Lloyds moved them across the Atlantic in pieces and then they were moved into position by truck, ready for assembly by the construction company.

During the opening ceremony, the President spoke proudly of the engineering feat, highlighting the importance of linking the central part of the country with the west coast. The bridge has become symbolic of Mexico’s continuing provincial development and its opening is part of the celebrations to mark 200 years of the country’s independence from colonial Spain. The practical implications however are huge with the journey time from Mazatlan to Durango reduced by 6 hours. This makes the road journey across Mexico’s heavily populated central regions commercially viable, linking the Atlantic and Pacific coasts by road for the first time.

Read the previous article here: www.tuscorlloyds.com/shipping-news/the-bridge/ ]]> http://www.tuscorlloyds.com/latest-news/building-bridges-baluarte-bridge-mexico/feed/ 0 http://www.tuscorlloyds.com/recent-projects/concrete-logistics-from-tuscor-lloyds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=concrete-logistics-from-tuscor-lloyds http://www.tuscorlloyds.com/recent-projects/concrete-logistics-from-tuscor-lloyds/#comments Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:51:07 +0000 Tuscor Lloyds http://www.tuscorlloyds.com/?p=8890 Tuscor Lloyds was called in by the manufacturer of this 20 ton mobile concrete batching plant after they struggled to find an appropriate vessel which could reach the destination within the tight timeframe. The mobile concrete batching plant was to be delivered to one of the biggest cement companies in the world and the deadline could not be missed. Using our knowledge and local contacts we arranged for multimodal transport by road and sea which would deliver the cargo to Mexico City within the timeframe. Tuscor Lloyds picked up the cargo from the manufacturers in Mercia, Spain and loaded it on to a truck, from here it was transported by road to our warehouses in Valencia where it was then loaded onto a 40’ flat rack which we located specifically for this shipment. Due to the shape and size (13.8m x 2.85m x 4m) of the cargo the stevedores had to specially lash the cargo to ensure it was safe and secure for transport by road and sea. The cargo was safely transported and loaded at the Port of Valencia and shipped as out of gauge cargo to Veracruz, Mexico for unloading. The mobile concrete batching plant was unloaded without any problems and once ready the cargo was transported by road to Mexico City.]]> Tuscor Lloyds was called in by the manufacturer of this 20 ton mobile concrete batching plant after they struggled to find an appropriate vessel which could reach the destination within the tight timeframe.

The mobile concrete batching plant was to be delivered to one of the biggest cement companies in the world and the deadline could not be missed. Using our knowledge and local contacts we arranged for multimodal transport by road and sea which would deliver the cargo to Mexico City within the timeframe.

Tuscor Lloyds picked up the cargo from the manufacturers in Mercia, Spain and loaded it on to a truck, from here it was transported by road to our warehouses in Valencia where it was then loaded onto a 40’ flat rack which we located specifically for this shipment.

Due to the shape and size (13.8m x 2.85m x 4m) of the cargo the stevedores had to specially lash the cargo to ensure it was safe and secure for transport by road and sea.

The cargo was safely transported and loaded at the Port of Valencia and shipped as out of gauge cargo to Veracruz, Mexico for unloading. The mobile concrete batching plant was unloaded without any problems and once ready the cargo was transported by road to Mexico City.

The Middle East and North Africa both look very exciting especially the Energy Sector. Now that the political situation appears to be calming down we are anticipating invigorated regional markets and some bounce back over the next 12 months. Libya especially is seeing strong growth since the fall of the regime.

We are seeing increasing activity in Brazil right now as infrastructure and development gathers pace for the World Cup and Olympics. We expect the market there to grow further over the next 2 years. We are seeing a great deal of project cargo to Brazil, especially from the continent.

Have customers changed the way they choose service providers?

The market is becoming cost driven – more than ever. Our customers move very high value cargo and they used to demand service before price. The demand for service is still there but the customers seem to be going out to the market and tendering jobs more nowadays. The problem with this approach is that they may drift towards inexperienced suppliers who look like they’re cheaper but the shipper will find costs increasing through the job.

Where are customers cutting costs and how does this affect the way you operate?

There seems to be a desire for shippers to deal directly with the shipping lines at the moment. The perception is that they will save some money by ‘cutting out the middle man’ but often this leads to headaches and mistakes. We are constantly improving our service offering, as this is the primary draw for our customers and one that the shipping lines can’t compete with.

We do find ourselves being squeezed on price because others claim to offer the same service for less. Customers find they are hit by surprise costs and this is where unscrupulous operators are making their money. Much of our cargo is time sensitive so another common trick is to offer earlier sailings to win the job, and then once the cargo is safely in hand the customer finds the vessel is delayed. We have maintained our high standards and always tell the truth. You try and educate the customer – as the saying goes: if something is too good to be true, it usually is.

Is the industry facing any equipment constraints?

Apart from the usual seasonal problems with haulage and road coverage, there seems to be a shortage of special equipment in the UK and Europe right now. Most shipping lines are claiming they will not be able to find equipment until the New Year. Furthermore the depots are struggling to find time and space to handle loading jobs. Fortunately our supplier contacts are well placed. They are finding equipment and space for our customers. Long standing relationships based on trust is the key to getting things done. Ours is still a people business.

What’s the situation at the moment with availability of charter vessels and lease costs?

In contrast there seems to be ample space and availability in port and on conventional vessels at the moment. Our chartering desk has been able to secure some very interesting cargos lately. There is certainly some good capacity available, especially short sea and inter-European trades. Cargo handling in port and on board vessel stevedoring is also easy to organize right now.

What changes in the shipping industry have most affected your business this year?

There appears to be more forwarders and shipping lines who claim they know how to ship heavy and abnormal project cargoes. They are attracted to the market because margins are better than their native container-based businesses. Many of these companies actually lack the expertise or ability to do a good job. Their service levels are poor and they make frequent and costly mistakes.

Some customers have been seduced by their promises, probably by pushy sales staff and heavy marketing campaigns. Almost all these customers returned with grim stories of big problems on relatively simple projects. Experience and integrity are important in todays’ market. We primarily sell knowledge to our customers. They use us as a ‘safe pair of hands’ for jobs which are rarely straightforward such as complicated multi-modal and cross trade movements.

What political changes have most affected your business this year?

Due to the global economic crisis, we feel there is over capacity and pent-up demand at the moment in the heavy lift market. Many exporters seem to be waiting for something bad to happen but we have thrived in this challenging environment. Our reputation as a reliable partner has allowed us to retain our key accounts and instil greater loyalty in our customer base.

Many companies are being squeezed by lack of cargo and falling revenues. Operators must be financially secure and able to handle problems if they occur. Too many shippers go purely on rate and fail to understand the implications of corporate failure and how close some firms are to going out of business.

What do you see as the single biggest challenge for your sector in the year to come?

The economic environment continues to challenge everyone in the freight industry. I think we will see many of the weaker firms falling by the wayside. The ones who remain will be all the stronger for it. Thankfully at Tuscor Lloyds we are seeing an increase in profit year on year. Not many in the industry can say that right now and this is down to the hard work and determination of our staff.

What was your growth strategy this year and how will you approach the next 12 months?

Our business model works well, but it is based on knowledge. We are gaining expertise by making a point of training the right people in house to think like us. The aim is to expand our project management staff numbers further. The more people we have who know how to handle project cargo intelligently, the better placed we will be to secure an even larger market share.

North Africa is really taking off for us right now and we’re looking at expanding our market share in the region. Much of the work is oil and gas industry related and as this sector is our specialty, we are finding a great deal of business out there. We are also expanding our offer in Brazil. We are working with some fantastic people over there and we’ve got some very big plans for our South American offer next year.