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FREIGHT BREAK Hazard of the job
One of the difficulties encountered in building the new London Gateway port is the amount of unexploded World War II ordnance that has been dredged up from the Thames Estuary. The tally so far is five pieces, along with some definitely pre-World War cannonballs. The chances of any of this stuff actually going bang after 70 years under
water is pretty slim, but port builders DP World are taking no chances. Every time a bomb is found, army specialists are called in and they are stored in special containers behind sandbags. The one exception are phosphor bombs, which have a nasty habit of spontaneously combusting when they are exposed to air, so they go quickly back into the water while the bomb disposal specialist is summoned. After all, their original purpose was to burn through metal ships and sink them.
Feeding time
Meanwhile, the work of preparing the site of the London Gateway port goes on. It may be officially classified as brownfield – it is being built on the site of what was once the UK’s largest refinery – but much of the land has lain disused for many years and Mother Nature has been gradually taking over again. As part of its environmental efforts, DP World is gathering up tens of thousands of animals and other life and moving them to new homes as far afield as Wiltshire. Not all the local wildlife has been so easy to capture though. There are several resident foxes, who regularly turn up at the back door of the site offices, usually when there is food to be had, before disappearing back into the undergrowth again. A bit like teenagers, I suppose...
It’s nice to be asked
Leading independent freight forwarder Davies Turner’s directors have found themselves in a Sunday Times list. Not the ‘Rich List’, sadly for them, but possibly the next best thing, The Sunday Times HSBC Top Track 250 list. In its first ever appearance, the company was ranked 237th in the annual league table of Britain’s biggest mid-market independent companies. It is one of only a couple of freight and logistics firms to be included in the list of top companies, which between them generate 5% of Britain’s GDP and employ more than half a million people. Does it ultimately make any difference to the company’s day-to-day affairs? “I’ve
And for the logisticians of the future...
You wait ages for one logistics book to come along, and then two come together. Not to be outdone by Issa Baluch’s publishing exploits, overnight network Palletforce has also put pen to paper. Aimed at a slightly younger age group, ‘No Job Too Tall’ features not only characters like Big Trousers, Woody Pallet, Phil Truck and Bob Stacker but chief executive Michael Conroy, thinly disguised as The Big Cheese, trying to go about their work as escapee zoo animals cause havoc in the central hub. (Perhaps this book isn’t too far from the reality of some sections of our industry.) The book aims to teach children
about green issues connected with the transport industry and how goods are transported around the country to end up in their homes, escaped animals permitting. To launch the book Palletforce
staged the world’s biggest bedtime story at its Burton on Trent hub on 13 November with the Really Wild Show presenter Michaela Strachan reading the tale to hundreds of youngsters. They also think they have broken the world record for the most adults reading to the most children in a single location, though this needs to be confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records.
Mr Big Cheese (or is it the other way round?)
asked myself the same question,” says Davies Turner’s chairman Philip Stephenson. It might bring the company to the notice of a few more City investment analysts but, as Mr Stephenson points out, “we’ve spent most of our careers making it clear that DT Plc is and will remain independent”. Still, any recognition is good news and gives the bosses of Britain’s last major independent forwarder the chance to go to a very snazzy party and rub shoulders with some giants of the business world. Says Mr Stephenson: “I will certainly go if invited again.”
On the buses
Greyhound Australia, the Down-under version of the iconic US long-distance express bus system, is providing a unique transport solution for Australia’s mango farmers, according to the etravelblackboard website. The notoriously delicate fruit have to be moved from the tropical north of the country to consumers in the south at the start of the Australian summer (remember, seasons and geography are all back to front in Australia) but how to achieve it in a country of vast distances? Enter the Greyhound. The website quotes the company’s CEO Robert Thomas
Palletforce chief exec Michael Conroy
who says: “Greyhound’s freight vehicles have super-soft suspension ensuring mangoes are delivered to buyers in peak condition. Over the years Greyhound Freight has become one of the most cost-effective and reliable solutions for mango transportation around Australia.” London bus users, used to the spine-jolting experience of one of the capital’s Bendybuses - which appear to have no suspension whatsover - will find this hard to believe, but things are obviously different in Australia. Thomas adds that the mangoes travel on the buses with the passengers, ideal
for the relatively small consignments and with daily services, they – both fruit and people - can get to where they need to be very rapidly. Also, the network covers the whole country from the big cities to the most remote spots. Again, I’m not sure this is something that could be easily replicated on Britain’s privatised and fragmented bus system. And I’m certain I wouldn’t want to eat fruit that had spent any time in some of our more insalubrious bus stations.
Above: The Really Wild Show’s Michaela Strachan read the book aloud to a rapt audience of more than 650 adults and children
Smarten up
Left: Michaela Strachan with competition winner Rhiannon Miller and her mum Yvonne Miller
Speaking of insalubrious sights, we’ve decided to bow to the sensibilities of our more sensitive female readers and replace the picture of your editor with something a bit smarter, following numerous complaints. (Well two, one of whom was my other half). Obviously, the freighting public isn’t yet ready for my attempts at effortless chic. In fact some people have suggested that it’s this, rather than the global recession, might be the underlying cause of sluggish advertising sales in FBJ.
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