EUROPE\\\ >> 24


Ro tt erdam is


located at


the mouth of the Rhine and the Maas, inland vessel services provide frequent shipping lines to destinations in the whole of Europe. From the terminals in Rotterdam an extensive fleet of inland vessels transports cargo via these rivers directly to economic centers in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Austria. Sailing times vary from less than a day for


Issue 5 2017 - FBJNA


destinations in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, to four days, for example, from Rotterdam to Basel, Switzerland. The Port of Hamburg


Port of Hamburg rail station Alte Süderelbe. (Image courtesy of HHM)


Moving inland By Karen E. Thuermer


Congestion is oſten the biggest impediment to distribution in Europe. While the Ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp are the two leading European seaports for handling containers, moving those containers quickly on the landside segment is problematic. The issue is quickly becoming compounded by the fact ports, are faced with having to handle an increasing number of large vessels, including today’s Ultra Large Container Ships (ULCS) oſten with more carriers loading cargo on them. For


this reason, distribution


and customs clearance is moving inland. Various international studies indicate that Wallonia, the French region of Belgium, offers the best location for establishing logistics and distribution activities for this reason. Several known companies -- TNT, H&M, Johnson & Johnson, Dow Corning, Skechers, Baxter, PFSweb, Farnell, and Scott Sports -- have opened operations there for this reason. “Wallonia is ideally located for


shipping by road to our two major markets, France and Germany, and is close to the freight airports of Liege and Brussels,” states Jean- Michel Colnot, operations director, Johnson & Johnson. “The region has the support of the public authorities and the workforce we need is readily available.” Johnson & Johnson’s teams


work 7 days a week, and handle an average of 4,000 orders per day. The ports of Rotterdam and


Antwerp factor big for the logistics industry in Wallonia. “The problem with these two main seaports is space and congestion,” remarks Bernard Piette, general manager, Logistics in Wallonia. Currently, the Port of Rotterdam


handles some 12 million TEUs per year. With the development of Maasvlakte 2, officials there anticipate 28 million TEUs by 2030.


“The problem is how to cope with that amount of boxes,” says Piette. Maasvlakte 2 container


terminal operators APM Terminals and Rotterdam World Gateway have obligations to move 40% of the containers from the port via river and 25% by rail. This creates opportunities


for Wallonia and


its main city of Liege, which offers direct, uncongested waterway connections to the Port of Rotterdam. The Port of Liege operates as the largest inland port in Belgium and the third largest in Europe. “People don’t always realize


that west of Germany is located the most geographically dense network of waterways in the world,” Piette says. “What makes Wallonia unique is we are a fully multimodal region 250 kilometers from one side to the other. And we are a gateway with 3.5 million people. Even in Liege, all transport modes (road, rail, water, and air) are close to each other.” In addition, Wallonia offers


an available and skilled logistics workforce, and there’s ample land available at decent prices. Piette


stresses that


port, operated by the Liege Port Authority, is accessible to sea- going vessels (up to 2,500 tons) and convoys propelled by two barges (up to 4,500 tons). Ships can connect with the Ports of Antwerp in 14 hours; Rotterdam, 24 hours, Dunkirk, 48 hours, and Zeebruges, 24 hours. “Belgium is a catchment area. It


can serve 56 million consumers in 150 kilometers who have 60% of Europe’s purchasing power,” reports Helene Thiebaut,


Liege


Port Authority spokesperson. “This makes it easy for European distribution.” The Liege Port Authority


presently has 32 port areas spread along the Meuse River and the Albert Canal. Over 914 acres of sites are available to users of the inland waterways. “We saw a good increase in traffic


last year,” Thiebaut says. “The tonnage carried on waterways rose by 3% to 20,527,456 tonnes; 56.862 TEU containers.” The port is considered a bulk


port. Containerized freight is a relatively new activity and handled at three container terminals: Euroports Inland Terminal


Albert Canal at Liege (Liege Port Authority Photo)


for northern European sea ports. Launched and integrated in 2015, activities commenced there in 2016. Trilogiport is located on 293+


in Flanders,


Netherlands, Western Germany, Luxembourg, and Northern France compete heavily in attracting logistics investment, but these locations are expensive. “We try to make ourselves different,” he says. “The argument in our favor is that we have available land at reasonable prices and an available, skilled workforce.”


Port of Liege Giving the Port of Liege an advantage is its location at the crossroads of six motorways with connections to Antwerp, Brussels, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and France and four rail


lines forming part of the European railway network. The


Monsin, DP World Liege in Liege, and Liege Container Terminal in Renory. Liege Container Terminal handles 95% of the area’s container activity. All three provide tailor- made and door-to-door transport services. “Containers are shuttled to connect with Northsea


ports


Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Zeeburge,” Thiebaut says. Helping speed the process is the fact the containers can be cleared in Liege. “Liege Container Terminal has


extended gates for MSC, CMA CGM, Maersk, OOCL, and China Shipping,” she says. “It is highly on the international map of shipping lines.” Today’s strategy is to position


Liege as ideal inland port for Europe. This is being accomplished with Liege Trilogiport, a multimodal platform that was is designed to act as an ‘extended gateway’ to the


acres along the Albert Canal in Mermalle-sous-Argenteau and offers a container terminal (37+ acres) for vessel loading and unloading activities; a logistics area (103+ acres) at the rear of the container terminal for distribution companies; a future site for economic activities (55+ acres), a tertiary services area (2.2 acres); and an environmental integration area (96+ acres). “The main goal is to attract


companies that make use of our waterways and create employment,” comments Thiebaut. DP World manages Trilogiport’s


container world. WDP (a Belgium company) and D.L. Trilogiport Belgium have taken acreage to develop distribution center sites. “The Liege Port Authority is part


of the Trans-European Transport Core Network (TEN-T Core Network), which plans multimodal hubs in Europe,” Thiebaut explains. “This means we are on the map of Europe and can get subsidiaries.” It is also part of Connecting Citizen Ports 21, a European project for best practice exchange between ports.


closely with Liege Port Authority in developing Trilogiport to guarantee a seamless system of distribution downstream from the port cargo unloading system. “They helped us with development, commercialization, and participating in trade fairs to propose to companies that do not have seaway access or space in Antwerp to come to the hinterland of Liege,” she reveals. “We participated together in common events.” Most noteworthy, the Liege Port


Authority, along with stakeholders and government departments, including the planning commission, were able to work fast to develop the first distribution center at Trilogiport in six months. “This is unusual for Belgium,” says Thiebaut. The goal was made and today


Trilogiport’s first client, Tempo One, is up and running. “We are now building a second


building,” she says. This one is 45,000 square meters for Jost Group, another 3PL. Phase One is expected to be completed in September 2017. By 2021, it expects to expand to 180,000 square meters.


3PL Location Tempo One Belgium is the client


possesses a very well developed hinterland within Europe. “It extends well beyond the German borders, reaching even as far as China,” remarks Mattern. “All the terminals in the port provide multimodal links for rail traffic, inland waterways, and trucking.” Nearly 2,000 container


seaports of Rotterdam, Antwerp and Zeebrugge and piloted by the inland port of Liège. In essence, Trilogiport is a canal logistics park, container terminal and road and rail hub that serves as a gateway


trains per week offer excellent transport connections from the Port of Hamburg to all hinterland regions. “Per call in the port, mega- ships produce bigger volumes of import and export cargo for landside hinterland distribution,” he says. The Port of Hamburg handled


46.4 million tons of seaborne cargo by rail last year, including 2.4 million TEU. “The track network is very efficient, and cargo transport to and from


On May 5, the Liege Port Authority welcomed a high level delegation from the European Commission to Trilogiport. “This is good for us,” Thiebaut emphasizes. The Port of Antwerp worked


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the hinterland is monitored by smartPORT systems,” Mattern adds. “Intelligent exchange of data to boost the port’s quality and efficiency is an essential element to optimize hinterland traffic and supply chains


via


Hamburg. The Port Community System


DAKOSY makes it


possible for the companies and authorities involved to process all the documents required for handling a shipment rapidly and electronically.”


for Alpargatas, Brazil’s largest


footwear company, which is exporting its Havaianas brand of flip flops via Trilogiport. “We are very proud to welcome


this product because it is a well known international brand,” Thiebaut says. “It’s not piece of wood and steel.” During a site visit, Patrick


Ballestero, Tempo One’s site director, explained that Alpargatas, produces some 260 million pairs of flip flops per year. “Last year, they produced 8 million for the European market and distributed them through our site in Marseilles,” he says. “In early 2016, they decided to create another DC in Northern Europe because the one in Marseilles, at 25,000 square meters, was too small.” By choosing Liege, the


company could distribute more rapidly to markets in the UK, France, Benelux, and Austria/ Germany. They chose Liege in early 2016, and the project was completed in July – 6 months later. “Alpargatas wanted to start out


utilizing 12,000 square meters, although our building is 18,000 square meters,” Ballestero says. “But next year we will expand their operations into the entire 18,000 square meters since they are experiencing 17% growth in sales.” Currently, the Belgium


warehouse handles one-third of Alpargatas’s European exports. Containers of flip flops arrive at the Port of Antwerp, are offloaded onto smaller vessels, and then shipped via the Albert Canal where they are offloaded at Trilogiport. From there, shipments


are transported by


truck to their destinations. “For us, the goal here is not


to have only one customer, but develop many,” Ballestero adds. Liege Port Authority expects


Trilogiport will further enhance Belgium’s reputation as the logistical capital of Europe.


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