Exporters get ahead with Redhead


28


UK based logistics specialist Redhead International is underlining its commitment to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland - where it began operating 35 years ago – by replacing its existing premises in Dublin with a 33,000 sq ſt facility boasting a state-of-the-art warehousing facility and modern new offices. As a major hub into the UK and mainland Europe, Redhead’s new depot will improve the quantity and flexibility of its pallet services. Redhead offers tailor-made


services with daily schedules into and out of Dublin and Belfast - where another new depot was opened in 2012 - to the UK, as well as into mainland Europe and beyond. Its service schedule currently extends to over 40 countries throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East and North Africa, with many services operating on a guaranteed daily basis. Redhead International’s director


of Ireland and Scotland, Mark Cosgrove, said: “Our new facilities are a valuable resource not only to the company, as we continue to develop our presence in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, but also, and more importantly, to local businesses that may be looking to grow their export markets - a strategy that is in line with the Government’s focus on developing export-led economic growth.” One of the company’s major


successes in the last few years has been in exploiting the import/ export opportunities created by the expansion into new markets. Some customers need more than just a cost-effective and reliable pallet service, requiring


a complete export/


import infrastructure that can manage and control every aspect of consignment handling and distribution. It can also offer delivery


of hazardous materials. The chemical industry is rapidly changing, with increased growth and relocation of production operations and key players have to be able to manage complex international logistics to stay ahead of their competitors. By building a mutually professional


beneficial


Issue 7 2013 Freight Business Journal


///IRELAND


Making hay when the sun didn’t shine


The Irish Sea ro-ro market was 3.2% stronger in the first seven months of this year, with 2% growth on the northern corridor and 3.3% on the larger southern corridor. “The general pick-up in trade


is going to ro-ro rather than lo- lo,” says Eugene Carron, freight manager for Irish Ferries. However, he points out that the lo-lo sector can respond faster to a sustained recovery, chartering vessels


for


as little as three months, whereas ferry operators tend to have less flexibility. Irish Ferries in particular has limited options as regards adjusting capacity, and will hope for an improvement in passenger numbers - static so far this year - to complement a 7.9% increase in


freight business in the first half of 2013. “Things have accelerated in the


last three months. The cold spring led to thousands of truckloads of hay imports, but there is a broader increase in activity. More high street spending is now in evidence; there is a little bit more confidence,” Carron says. “The general liſt in UK construction and engineering has stimulated Irish exports of concrete slabs, timber and insulation materials.” The ro-ro sector will maintain


a rate of 3-4% growth over the full year, he predicts, recovering from a very poor 2012 when the total number of trailers crossing the Irish Sea sank to 1.6 million, some 11% below its 2007 peak of 1.8 million.


relationship with Hazchem, the UK’s only pallet network dedicated to the transportation of specialist chemicals, Redhead has extended its services in line with its customers’ requirements. Creative route planning, cargo sharing and consolidation of a wide variety of small batch deliveries to a disparate


customer base, not only reduces the distances travelled by the chemicals


and increases the


speed of delivery but also ensures the optimal service for all customers. Redhead’s managing director,


Tony Suggitt, commented: “Our business continues to prosper in spite of challenging financial


conditions. Our continuing expansion will see us adding further scheduled services to our portfolio. The capacity to swiſtly and precisely meet customer needs and timeframes is vital, particularly as many companies are under constant pressure due to factors such as increased competition.”


Ireland could join new DHL network in second phase


DHL Freight is planning a second wave of its Eurapid road service, (see FBJ 6 2013, page 8), UK managing director Russell Davies told FBJ on 14 October. Currently operating in 14 countries, the premium day-definite service for consignments up to 2.5 tonnes could be extended to other countries, including the Republic of Ireland, he said. Eurapid uses DHL’s existing


Euroconnect road network but is augmented by a series of line hauls to and from 25 selected terminals, with an element of hub and spoke


operation, Davies explained. Line hauls


currently operate from


London to 25 other terminals across Europe, but as business expands, the UK Midlands could also be brought into the line haul network – although Eurapid service is already available to and from all parts of the UK, using DHL’s existing domestic network, he added. For example, a shipment picked up in the London area before noon can be anywhere in Germany the next day. Other features of Eurapid include full end-to-end track and


trace and a charging structure based on simple rate cards. Davies said: “It’s aimed at customers, for example the fashion and technology sectors, who want shorter production life


cycles


for their products, coupled with reliability of delivery.” Other countries in the Eurapid


network are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland and typical journey times are around 24 hours.


Postcodes for Ireland


Freight Transport Association Ireland (FTAI) has welcomed Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte’s confirmation in early October that there would be a unique seven character code to every letterbox in


the Republic of Ireland. The country has lagged behind much of the rest of Europe in postcodes, but it will now become the first country in the world to have a public database of individual seven-character


postcodes to be allocated to houses, apartments, offices and business addresses. The system should eliminate the problem of non-unique addresses, which affects up to 35% of Irish premises.


Confident step forward for Surefreight


Surefreight Global Forwarding, a new operation based in Belfast port, aims to build on the strong transport presence of the parent Surefreight group on both sides of the Irish Sea. “We wanted to diversify aſter 24 years in the trucking business and thought forwarding was a good move on the back of our 1,200-strong client base,” says director Stephen Nelson. The group, which operates 150


trucks and 400 trailers, makes around 50 nightly Irish Sea transits. Newry-based Surefreight Ltd supplies customers on the UK mainland and connects with the


Bradford headquarters of


Surefreight International as well as depots in Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Cardiff. Through a new partnership


with BTG in Neuss, near Düsseldorf, Surefreight now has access to a German and pan- European network.


“The plan


is to offer a daily service from Northern Ireland via Bradford into Germany,” Nelson says. Surefreight Global Forwarding


is meanwhile looking to offer customs clearance, storage and distribution services and will establish a warehouse in Mallusk as soon as it secures bond approval for imports of South American timber.


EFL offers pets Dublin fast-track


Dublin-based forwarder EFL International Distribution has joined the Texas-based International Pet and Animal Transportation Association (IPATA), a non-profit, worldwide trade


association for animal


handlers and pet moving providers. The long-time exclusive Irish


agent of the worldwide U-Freight Group, EFL International launched


its pet shipping


operation a year ago and is one of only three companies in Ireland accepted into IPATA membership. It was also the first company in


the Irish Republic to become an approved carrier under the Irish Government’s Pet Passport System. Veterinary examination


and documentation checks are provided at Dublin airport by a mobile veterinary unit by a registered and approved veterinary surgeon working with a member of EFL International’s pet specialist team on the day the animal arrives into Ireland, rather than having to move animals from Dublin airport to the Government- approved veterinary clinic six kilometres away.


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