ISSUE 4 2010


UK NORTH WEST


Liverpool is a Mecca for shipping talent, says Gareth Walter, commercial manager at Zim, one of the shipping companies that has made its UK headquarters in the city. “You have people here who have been involved in shipping for generations, and we’ve got some very good people here with a huge depth of knowledge.” Traditionally, people learned


shipping on the job, but now graduates are emerging from John Moores university with degrees in the subject – Gareth Walter’s own company employs two of them. Zim is not the only shipping line to have its UK HQ or a substantial presence in the city; others include Maersk,


CMA CGM, ACL and CSAV. That process can only continue as Peel Ports gets its ambitious plans for developing Liverpool container terminal under way. Few shipping companies are


actively recruiting in the present climate, but when the recovery comes, the presence of a lively and competitive shipping scene in the city can only be an asset, Walter believes. Interestingly, many of the


shipping lines that have set up headquarters operations in Liverpool don’t necessarily use the port at the moment, although that could change. It is rather the city’s reputation as a shipping knowledge hub, not the physical presence of cargo, that has


attracted them. That said, Gareth Walter is convinced that a Far East service direct into Liverpool would do very well. There are already excellent feed services operated by the likes of MSC and excellent links to the Mediterranean and North America. But Liverpool is also a good


Shipping is in Livperpool’s blood and now people are emerging from local universities with degrees in the subject


place to for a shipping line because a lot of the industry’s customers are there, and some new ones are emerging. The North-west was traditionally home to a lot of heavy industry, along with others such as chemical manufacturing and despite the perceived decline of UK manufacturing, many of them are still with us. “But also, a lot of the import business has moved here,” says Walter. “We


The man who knows – in Knowsley


By his own admission, PK Marine Freight Services is a hard firm to pin down, says managing director, Ian Kirkham. “You can’t put us into a specific slot,” he says. “We do packing, of all types, we will collect freight, consolidate it – and arrange for it to be delivered, although we are not ourselves a freight forwarder. We have some customers who use all our services; other who use only some of them.” Starting life in Liverpool


Docks in 1970, the company has since moved to the Knowsley Industrial park on the western fringes of Liverpool. Many of the company’s staff have been with the firm almost as long


as Kirkham himself, although business development manager Andrew Hughes and sales and marketing manager Ben Lyon have helped pull the average age down quite a bit. Why Knowsley? “Well, we


needed plenty of space, cheaply – and the local council has been brilliant; very proactive.” PKM packs and handles cargo


in all shapes and sizes. “Machines of 120-tonnes are meat and drink to us. We’ve also packed 48-ft aircraft wings – and helicopters.” Helicopters have the advantage that they can be flown onto their own packing case bases, but preparing one for export is a skilled engineering process. In


Rochdale pioneer


German-based forwarder Dachser will offer daily services to and from Europe when it completes the acquisition of Rochdale-based haulier Leach Distribution from early next year. Dachser UK managing director, Nick Lowe said that services would probably initially operate via Alsdorf or one of Dachser’s other German hubs although direct services to other hubs may be introduced as business develops. Nick Lowe added: “I think we might be the first international operator in Rochdale itself, but there’s a lot of competition in the North-west region generally.”


fact many of the items that PKM prepares for export are delicate and need careful handling. The company is one of the very


few in the district, outside the ports, that can handle containers of up to 48 tonnes. Many freight forwarders,


including many of the big multinationals, call on PKN whenever they have a specialist requirement, says Kirkham. “A good 70% of our work actually comes from outside the region or from abroad,” adds Kirkham. “Paradoxically, we’re not as well known locally as we should be.” Perhaps the most spectacular


job to date was wrapping a huge petrol refinery cooling


box in polythene. Christo and Jeanne-Claude may have made art history by wrapping up the Reichstag, but in some ways this job was even more technically demanding says Kirkham. “Nothing that size had even been shrink-wrapped in a single piece, and the manufacturer of the wrapping even came to see how it was done.” The cooling box had been intended to be shipped to a refinery in Nigeria but had been delayed and needed to be protected from the elements while it was stored for several months in the open. Then, prior to shipment, the plastic wrapping – all 4½ tonnes of it – had to be peeled off and disposed of.


29 Shipping Lines flock back to Liverpool


have distribution centres for the likes of Asda, Tesco, Matalan, Sainsbury’s and home-grown retailers like Littlewoods and Home Bargains.” Many of these retailers are


looking to port-centric logistics solutions, and while the ports of the North-east have been first off the mark in this respect, there is no doubt that Peel Ports could attract similar business to Liverpool, Walter believes. “In fact, it’s vital that they do. If the economic glory days return, it will be impossible to put all these huge volumes through Felixstowe and Southampton. And I think Peel Ports have a good name and a good product, that will stand them in good stead.”


Promising start for Transpoint


It’s enormous - but is it art?


Dachser is now in the process of integrating IT systems, installing equipment such as radio frequency antennae and ensuring that processes work smoothly and that existing Leach and newly recruited staff are trained. However, the mainly domestic Leach business, including its role as the local member of the Palletline network, will continue, although the Lancashire company’s identity will eventually be merged into that of its new German parent. Leach brings a fleet of 25 rigid vehicles, 12 tractor units and 25 trailers,


including double-deck units. It is also a member of the Hazchem network and it is possible that international hazardous goods services to and from Europe could develop later.


Manchester is the northern UK headquarters for Transpoint International, the cross-border freight and logistics arm of the Finnish Railways (VR) and which is being re-branded as VR Transpoint. Despite the company’s ownership, Transpoint’s main business to and from the UK – where it also has a southern HQ at Maldon in Essex – is eastern Europe Russia and the former Soviet Union countries. It offers groupage and full load road services and multi- modal, says UK sales manager Mike Luconi. Coverage of this region is excellent, he says. “We can split and and reconsolidate trailers at all our hubs, so we can offer a very frequent service, even to some of the more remote places,” he explains. The network stretches deep into Russia and includes many central Asian countries. At the moment, the company


is investing €230 million in its Russian multi-modal operations, but the UK will be the subject of future investment, he says.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32