May 2021

Frozen veg group gets clad-rack warehouse

Posted on 25 May, 2021 by David Priestman

AR Racking and Swisslog have started the installation of a new clad-rack warehouse in Funes (Navarra, Spain) for Virto Group, a leader and reference in the production and distribution of frozen vegetables for retail, food service and industry.

The new clad-rack warehouse, which covers 11,020 sq m and will be 38m high, will have a storage capacity for 56,166 europallets, which will allow Virto Group to have a stock of between 50 and 70 million kilograms of frozen products.

AR Racking’s 100% galvanised racking, apart from supporting the external exposures and external forces of the warehouse, will be designed to integrate a Swisslog compact storage system with 31 transfer cars for pallet handling. An ideal solution for high-density storage and maintaining maximum operational speed, with flows of 350 pallets per hour.

“We fully trust AR Racking’s expertise in industrial racking systems, having worked with them on previous occasions to fulfil our storage needs in other frozen product facilities that we have in Segovia, Badajoz and La Rioja,” explained José Antonio Baldero, Technical Director of Virto Group.

“Clad-rack warehouses provide great low density resulting in significant savings due to lower investment. Our racking also adapts perfectly to warehouses that require cold work such as that of Virto Group, which will be at a temperature of -24°C,” added Roberto Arriaran, Director for Integration Business Unit at AR Racking.

Frozen veg group gets clad-rack warehouse

Posted on 25 May, 2021 by Keith McKinley

MOSCA introduces UCB machine with banding technology

Posted on 25 May, 2021 by Keith McKinley

To meet the demand for the best possible transport security for every product, MOSCA is integrating a banding system into its UCB fully automatic corrugated cardboard strapping machine. This model will now be capable of reliably and gently securing even the most fragile products.

“Our UCB strapping machine has been established in the corrugated board industry for many years. We can now equip this model with a banding system specially designed for glossy printed materials or other fragile products that consumers expect to be 100% damage free,” MOSCA CEO Timo Mosca explains.

The integrated banding system was developed by the Waldbrunn-based strapping specialists in cooperation with their long-standing partner ATS Tanner. “Joint projects like these enable us to continuously advance our technologies and develop innovative approaches for our standard models as a means of more effectively supporting our customers’ processes.”

Similar to the strapping process, the UCB machine automatically secures product stacks with banding material. The operator simply places the stack of corrugated cardboard into position and the machine takes over. It aligns the stack on up to six sides, which makes banding complex 4- and 6-point folding boxes possible without the slightest problem. Then the UCB gently applies a band to the aligned stack and securely bundles the package.

The width of the band is a key factor when it comes to avoiding product damage. The UCB uses a 20mm-wide banding film that bundles products more gently for optimum transport safety. Similar to the process used for strapping, MOSCA relies on ultrasonic technology to seal the banding film. Unlike a thermal process, energy is only required at certain points and there are no warm-up phases.

The UCB enables more sensitive banding with its self-learning teach-in function. The machine precisely measures new products and stores their dimensions. The band can then be applied gently and accurately to all subsequent products of the same type.

Mondi GmbH, a MOSCA customer who specialises in corrugated cardboard, tested the banding technology for six months to bundle folding boxes in stacks of 15 to 20. Mondi production manager Jörg Erhardt was satisfied with the test run: “Machine operation was easy and proved to be no problem for our staff. Of course, there was an adjustment phase, but we managed it well – thanks to the great teamwork with MOSCA. If we had any questions, someone was immediately available to support us.”

“Combining strapping and banding technologies in a single machine enables our customers to adapt their bundling operations more flexibly to each product,” Timo Mosca explains. Only a few manual steps are required to switch between banding and strapping. The machine shuts down automatically and the banding unit can be pulled out and replaced with the strapping unit. There’s no need to change parameters: the machine automatically adjusts to the selected process. The changeover is completed in just a few minutes and can be carried out, for example, during a product change on the upstream folding box gluer without any additional downtime.

The sealing unit and dispenser are easy to access, which simplifies maintenance and cleaning. “This is a big advantage – especially in the corrugated cardboard industry, where there’s a lot of dust,” adds Jörg Erhardt.

MOSCA introduces UCB machine with banding technology

Posted on 25 May, 2021 by David Priestman

UPS Healthcare accelerates cold chain capabilities

Posted on 25 May, 2021 by David Priestman

UPS is expanding its specialty pharmaceutical offerings by establishing UPS Cold Chain Solutions, a comprehensive suite of cold chain technologies, best-in-class capabilities, and new and expanded global facilities providing complete, end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics.

“Our customers have been taking advantage of our cold chain capabilities for years, but the pandemic caused UPS to move even faster to enhance an integrated set of cold chain solutions to support the future of the pharmaceutical and medical device industry,” said Wes Wheeler, UPS Healthcare president. “UPS’s near-perfect, on-time delivery of the COVID-19 vaccine proves how effectively and efficiently our network handles biologically derived drugs, even at extreme temperatures.”

Chronic and life-threatening diseases, including cancers, respiratory, autoimmune and cardiovascular conditions, are the fastest growing disease categories in the world, creating a rapid acceleration in the development of biologically derived, temperature-controlled drugs and therapies.

According to the Biopharma Cold Chain Sourcebook, cold chain trends show 48% growth between 2018 and 2024 for drugs that require at least 2-8°C storage and shipping. Additionally, the overall market for cold chain services (packaging, transportation and data services) is expected to significantly accelerate growth over the next three years, growing by 24% by 2024, after posting a 10% increase from 2019 to 2020.

“The future of the healthcare and specialty pharmaceutical industries will increasingly rely on robust cold chain networks to safely deliver temperature-controlled drugs and therapies to customers,” said Kate Gutmann, UPS chief sales and solutions officer and SVP, UPS Global Healthcare. “The continued evolution of our cold chain offerings ensures UPS is ready for the future and can continue to provide long-term value for our healthcare customers.”

UPS Cold Chain Solutions is purpose-built to provide pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers and laboratories a full, end-to-end cold chain service offering, including storage and distribution, transportation, visibility, and quality assurance capabilities to meet their complex demands for critical products around the world.

As part of a continued, aggressive strategy to build sophisticated capabilities in cold chain logistics, UPS Healthcare is expanding and augmenting its temperature-controlled products and services, including:

Cold chain GMP storage capacities – roughly 390,000 sq ft (36,200 sq m) of coolers and freezers installed at UPS facilities to support the storage of biologics ranging from 2°C to as low as -80°C

Packaging customisation – recommendations for specific temperature-controlled packaging options to minimise total cost while ensuring safe and efficient transportation of products

UPS European cold chain ground network expansion – adding more ground transportation fleets, better connection between gateways and teams of experts to create customisable solutions that fit our customers’ needs

Transportation efficiencies – four flexible, temperature-regulated service options via air or ocean freight that can be configured to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical packaging and help keep customer costs down

Precise monitoring with UPS Premier technology – protocols to provide pinpoint visibility into covered pallets, boxes, trailers and packages within 10ft (3m) of their location anywhere in the UPS network

Facility updates – construction of two new GDP-compliant, healthcare-licensed distribution facilities in Italy and Australia, as well expansions and cold chain retrofit projects to facilities in The Netherlands, Czechia, Poland, Hungary and the US

“UPS sets a high bar for excellence in cold chain delivery and logistics, and these current and future investments in innovative solutions will ensure we keep pushing the bar higher,” Wheeler said. “For our customers, we will remain focused on delivering on our commitment to ‘Quality Focused. Patient Driven.’”

UPS Healthcare accelerates cold chain capabilities

Posted on 25 May, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Cold chain GMP storage capacities – roughly 390,000 sq ft (36,200 sq m) of coolers and freezers installed at UPS facilities to support the storage of biologics ranging from 2°C to as low as -80°C

Packaging customisation – recommendations for specific temperature-controlled packaging options to minimise total cost while ensuring safe and efficient transportation of products

MSC and GBRf sign new five-year rail deal

Posted on 25 May, 2021 by David Priestman

Mediterranean Shipping Company (UK) Ltd. (MSC) and GB Railfreight (GBRf) have announced a new five-year deal, further strengthening their long-established relationship and joint commitment to delivering sustainable solutions for customers.

GBRf has been a provider of rail services to MSC since 2002. Its knowledge and expertise in supplying locomotives and wagons combined with MSC’s extensive line haulage services enables the two companies to deliver market leading door-to-door services to their customers.

The new agreement will be volume-based and is expected to increase wagon utilisation that in turn will help further reduce carbon emissions.

MSC commented: “MSC is once again delighted to confirm a new five-year deal with GBRf, who have been supporting MSC with our intermodal rail services since 2002. Our priority was to continue to offer unparalleled capability and flexibility to our line haulage customers in a fast-paced and ever-evolving UK intermodal market. Increased wagon utilisation was a key component from the start, and engagement with ports and inland terminals to support this initiative took place early on.

“We are delighted that our new shared contract will allow both MSC and GBRf to continue our work in taking steps to reduce CO2 emissions by moving containers via rail, closer to final destination.”

The services will operate from Felixstowe and London Gateway to both the Midlands and Yorkshire, with a minimum commitment of five days a week. Over the course of the next five years, the deal will remain agile and be able to provide flexibility to changing market dynamics while supporting MSC’s intermodal volume growth.

John Smith, Managing Director at GB Railfreight, said: “We are thrilled to have signed this contract with MSC. They are a long-standing partner and one of the leading shipping and logistics companies in the world, and we are delighted to be able to continue working with them for the next five years.

“Given MSC’s projected future growth, we have struck a flexible agreement which will allow both parties to make better use of the services we share. As a business we always put the clients first and we are delighted to be able to cater to MSC’s needs with this contract renewal.

“With the economic picture looking uncertain, I am pleased we will continue working with MSC – a move which shows that the rail freight market is in good shape and will be needed more than ever as we begin the road back to recovery.”

With proven records of ability to adapt to fast-paced, changing economic and market climates, both GBRf and MSC will be further supporting their customers’ supply chains with increased stability, flexibility and sustainability.

MSC and GBRf sign new five-year rail deal

Posted on 25 May, 2021 by Keith McKinley

The new agreement will be volume-based and is expected to increase wagon utilisation that in turn will help further reduce carbon emissions.

Priority Freight transports rapidly auto parts

Posted on 24 May, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Priority Freight recently transported two tonnes of automotive parts from China to Europe in less than 36 hours.

Priority Freight says it is an expert in providing the fastest, most cost-effective and reliable time-critical logistics solutions – with an industry-leading reaction time of under 15 minutes and an on-time delivery rate of 99.6%. The company’s specialist services were called upon by an automotive manufacturer who required immediate support transporting two tons of automotive parts from Tianjin, China to Spain in just 48 hours.

When the call came in from the customer in Spain on Thursday evening, the relevant Chinese manufacturers and airlines were already closed. However, scenario planning began immediately and the client was offered the express tariffs that Priority Freight already had secured with airlines operating out of China in advance.

The cargo needed to be collected from two different Tianjin-based manufacturers which, at the time of the booking, were closed and had no idea the emergency transport was already being organised.

Priority Freight prepared the relevant paperwork needed for customs and was ready with two vehicles to pick up the parts as soon as the Chinese manufacturers started work for the day, transferring to Shanghai airport (PVG) for the first available flight on Friday.

To ensure the goods would arrive in Spain by Saturday evening, Priority Freight knew the only solution would be air freight to Frankfurt (FRA) and then an air charter to Madrid (MAD). Priority Freight having its own regional office at FRA airport played a big part in the success of the operation. The company secured a direct flight to FRA for all two tonnes of cargo, where the team was able to expedite customs for a re-route to Stuttgart airport (STR). There, the chartered SAAB 340ª aircraft was waiting to fly to MAD on Saturday morning.

The capabilities of Priority Freight’s 24/7 team made a huge difference in this case. Priority Freight’s night team in Europe was able to liaise with the partners in China and, as soon as the truck arrived to collect the goods at the factories, they communicated independently with the manufacturers, knowing exactly what was needed, acting on the customer’s behalf while their offices in Europe were closed.

By the time Priority Freight’s Spanish customer had woken up, all cargo had been loaded from both loading points and the vehicles were able to make the deadline to PVG.

Priority Freight transports rapidly auto parts

Posted on 24 May, 2021 by David Priestman

Priority Freight recently transported two tonnes of automotive parts from China to Europe in less than 36 hours.

The cargo needed to be collected from two different Tianjin-based manufacturers which, at the time of the booking, were closed and had no idea the emergency transport was already being organised.

By the time Priority Freight’s Spanish customer had woken up, all cargo had been loaded from both loading points and the vehicles were able to make the deadline to PVG.

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