Day: 9 January 2020

Maritime Intermodal, a subdivision of Maritime Transport, has launched a new five-day-a-week rail freight service to SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway.

The first route will connect the new strategic rail freight terminal at East Midlands Gateway to the Port of Felixstowe, the UK’s busiest container port, and will provide the capacity to move up to 70 containers. The new service is Maritime Intermodal’s seventh daily rail freight service, with further services expected to be announced in the coming months.

Maritime Transport’s 17-acre EMG terminal is capable of handling up to sixteen 775m freight trains daily. The terminal will provide storage capacity for over 5,000TEU – which is equal to approximately 50,000 pallets of cargo – and is the first to connect to the Castle Donington freight line, providing direct access to the UK’s network of rail freight interchanges and all major UK Ports. In order to accommodate the terminal, earthworks took place to dig 25m below existing ground level. The site will also host a new 20,000 sq ft HQ for Maritime Intermodal to house operations staff, state-of-the-art training facilities and parking for a fleet of up to 100 trucks.

The UK & Ireland’s largest trailer producer SDC has launched the Freespan Curtainsider to operators in the UK following years of building it solely for the Irish market. Featuring a clear side aperture for ease of loading, the Freespan is “packed full of innovation that will enhance efficiency in everyday loading and logistics operations”.

The company says the launch is driven by a market need for locally produced Freespan trailers, manufactured to the high level of exacting standards which UK operators demand. While SDC previously provided a Freespan solution in conjunction with Lawrence David, this arrangement came to an end when Polish manufacturer Wielton purchased a 75% stake in Lawrence David, with chassis now being imported from Poland for their pillarless model.

Built on SDC’s robotically welded chassis with over 150,000 units manufactured, the EN-XL rated Freespan Curtainsider is an evolution of their diverse curtainsider range. SDC’s COO Paul Bratton said: “We are delighted to finally release the Freespan trailer in the UK after years of building it solely for the Irish market, providing a reliable solution for customers who require a side loading operation.”

The ‘Rail’ Solution

The company says a big advantage of SDC’s Freespan is the ease of operation, featuring 5* ‘Easy-roll’ curtain rail technology, a low-friction track system for optimum trailer performance. Designed in-house by SDC’s engineering team, the technology has been proven on their curtainsider range over the last 40 years. The curtains glide effortlessly along a clear side aperture and specially designed low friction alloy roof rail, ensuring maximum safety during loading and unloading.

Another benefit is SDC’s ability to design and manufacture to the customer’s exact specification and transport requirements. A straight or step frame option can be customised to any length, with any combination of door, floor, storage and load restraint, as well as aerodynamic aids for optimised performance and efficiency.

TIP Trailer Services has taken delivery of the Freespan, with Karl Davies, UK & Ireland commercial director adding; “Our customers are delighted with SDC’s Freespan Curtainsider, the chassis and curtain technology are some of the best we see on the market, providing an excellent addition to the TIP fleet. TIP has purchased in excess of 1,000 SDC trailers over the last year and the level of quality is unwavering throughout their range, I look forward to working with Paul and the team more in the future and providing SDC’s innovative Freespan trailer to our UK customers.”

During a ceremony held yesterday at the Port of Dunkirk, the APL SINGAPURA, a container ship belonging to CMA CGM, inaugurated cold ironing facilities at the Port of Dunkirk’s Terminal des Flandres. Notable participants included Eric Etienne, Dunkirk’s deputy prefect, Xavier Bertrand, President of the Hauts-de-France Regional Council, Patrice Vergriete, President of the Urban Community of Dunkirk, Christine Cabau Woehrel, CMA CGM Group Executive Vice President in charge of Industrial Assets, Stéphane Raison, Chairman of the Port of Dunkirk Executive Board, Nicolas Sartini, Chief Executive Officer of CEVA Logistics, and Gérard Mulliez, founder of Auchan, who is the first customer of the Port of Dunkirk through the group’s family-owned companies.

Cold ironing is a technology that provides an effective way of protecting the environment. By plugging into an onshore electricity supply, container ships calling at port can shut down their auxiliary engines while still getting the power they need, particularly in order to maintain controlled temperatures in refrigerated containers (Reefers).

This innovative technology has significant environmental benefits, including:
– Zero emissions of sulphur and nitrogen oxides and fine particles while ships are at berth;
– Significantly reduced noise pollution.

The cold ironing system installed at the Terminal des Flandres will become fully operational during the first half of 2020.

ACTEMIUM, a consortium of two companies (Brest and Boulogne) was selected to carry out the works. These included the design and supply of a cold ironing system that fits into six 40-foot containers, converting the public electricity supply for use by ships at port. With capacity of 8 MW ¬– enough to power nearly 1,000 homes – this system is one of the most powerful ever to be installed in Europe.

Stéphane Raison, Chairman of the Port of Dunkirk Executive Board, said: “Our decision to develop this particularly innovative solution allowing container ships to plug into onshore power at the Terminal des Flandres is in line with the pro-active environmental policy that the Port of Dunkirk has been pursuing for many years.”

Automated conveying and roller specialist Interroll has named a new head of its innovation team. Dr. Christian Ripperda (above) has taken over the lead of the Swiss firm’s global innovation activities in the newly created function of Vice President System Innovation.

In his new role, 39-year-old Ripperda will lead and coordinate Interroll’s global innovation activities, which integrate the Interroll Project and Development Centre (IPDC), Interroll’s Global Product Management and the Interroll Intellectual Property strategy as well as the support of all development activities in the group. He reports to Jens Strüwing, Executive Vice President Products & Technology and member of the Interroll Group Management.

Christian Ripperda joins Interroll with 12 years of multidisciplinary research and development (R&D) experience including information technology (IT), electronics and machine vision as well as expertise in product development and strategic business development, with specialty in digitalization (Industry 4.0) and cutting-edge technologies for industrial application. He holds a PhD (Dr. rer. nat) in electrical engineering/physics from the Institute for Semiconductor Electronics of RWTH Aachen in Germany.