Large Mobile Racking System Installed in UAE Cold Room

SSI Schaefer, supplier of warehouse automation and cold-chain storage solutions, has announced the results of its partnership with Noatum Logistics Middle East, an integrated regional end-to-end logistics services arm of Noatum, an AD Ports Group company which leads the Group’s Logistics Cluster.

By leveraging SSI Schaefer’s mobile pallet racking system that increases storage capacity by over 90%, the partnership created the largest mobile racking system installation for deep-freeze cold rooms in the UAE, which is part of AD Ports Group’s KLP21 warehousing hub, located at Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (KEZAD).

In addition to boosting cooling efficiency and storage density, the system also succeeded in enhancing warehouse safety through its multiple failsafe mechanisms and cutting-edge programmable logic controller (PLC) to enable customized and automated control. With the increasing demand for pre-built, state-of-the-art cold room storage facilities in KEZAD, the partnership fulfills a key need for new clients, while accelerating business growth in the region and beyond.

Cosmin Sebastian Ilie, Head of Business Unit Product & Equipment APAC MEA, SSI Schaefer, said: “We are honoured to have partnered with AD Ports Group and subsequently with Noatum Logistics Middle East on these transformative projects. Demonstrating our core values of being customer committed and long-term oriented, this collaboration is driving innovation and excellence in the logistics industry, enabling our partner to provide state-of-the-art storage solutions that cater to the evolving needs of its customers. We look forward to continuing our journey of success to grow and thrive in the region together.”

Daniel Berasategui, Managing Director, Noatum Logistics Middle East & CEO of Noatum Project Cargo, Logistics Cluster, AD Ports Group, said: “Our partnership with SSI Schaefer has been important in helping develop our capabilities as a regional logistics hub serving a multitude of industry sectors ranging from healthcare to FMCG. As we combine the strength of AD Ports Group’s capabilities with Noatum’s highly integrated logistics services and global networks, we will continue working with partners like SSI Schaefer to provide us with market-leading capabilities that earn our customers’ trust to handle their entire value chain – from manufacture to end user.”

An initial collaboration to deliver crucial pandemic-era vaccine logistics infrastructure

The fruitful partnership between AD Ports Group and SSI Schaefer dates back several years. AD Ports Group initially partnered with SSI Schaefer to advance its progress toward becoming the largest cold-chain storage distribution centre for health and medical supply chains. SSI Schaefer designed and installed a VNA (Very Narrow Aisle Pallet Racking) storage solution to optimize the Group’s state-of-the-art deep-freeze storage capacity that played a crucial role in storing and distributing over 260 million vaccine doses to over 65 countries worldwide as part of the HOPE Consortium – an Abu Dhabi-led public-private partnership designed to combat the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Turning to SSI Schaefer to optimize its cold-chain warehousing space and capacity for pharmaceutical distribution, AD Ports Group’s Logistics Cluster opted for ESX Mobile Racking for dry, deep-freeze warehouses, covering a vast +8,000 square meters and providing 14,000 pallet positions. Equipped with deep-freeze solutions and advanced digital dashboards for precise environmental control, the solution enabled storing vaccines and pharmaceuticals within a set temperature range, even as low as -25° C.

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Electric Cargo Bikes will Deliver Thousands of Packages

Amazon has opened its first micromobility hub in Norfolk, UK at its delivery station in Norwich. The hub now houses a fleet of new electric cargo bikes which will deliver thousands of packages per week to customers, taking traditional delivery vans off city centre roads, and helping to improve air quality and alleviate congestion.

Norwich joins more than 40 cities in the UK and across Europe which have Amazon micromobility hubs facilitating electric cargo bike and on-foot deliveries. As part of a £300 million investment to electrify and decarbonise Amazon’s UK transportation network, electric cargo bikes and walkers are now expected to make millions of deliveries to Amazon customers across the UK every year.

“Our new electric cargo bikes are part of Amazon’s commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions across our operations by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement. This is a proud moment for our team, and great news for customers across the city who will benefit from zero-emissions deliveries to their door,” said Connor Ashford, Senior Delivery Station Manager at Amazon in Norwich.

Danzen Logistics is a local courier company which provides delivery services to Amazon customers in Norwich. Dan Zenchuk, owner of Danzen Logistics said: “We are delighted to work with Amazon to bring this fleet of electric cargo bikes to Norwich. We think the electric cargo bikes are going to be a big hit with customers, while also supporting Amazon’s sustainability commitments, and providing additional delivery rider opportunities in the area.”

As well as traditional carriers, Amazon works with a community of Delivery Service Partners – small and medium sized courier businesses like Danzen Logistics – which provide work opportunities to thousands of individuals who deliver packages to customers. Amazon and its partners already have more than 1,000 electric delivery vans deployed across the UK and Ireland, in addition to nine fully electric heavy goods vehicles, the first in the company’s fleet, which have replaced traditional lorries.

All of the electricity consumed by Amazon’s operations, including its data centers, was matched with 100% renewable energy in 2023 – seven years ahead of the 2030 goal the company had set. As the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy globally and in the UK, Amazon has 29 operational on-site solar projects and enabled seven large-scale offsite renewable energy projects, with a capacity of more than 900MW in the UK.

Once all projects are operational, they are expected to generate enough energy to power the equivalent of more than one million UK homes annually. These include corporate purchase power agreements with; a wind farm in Ballykeel, Co Antrim, which opened last year; Moray West Offshore Windfarm in Scotland; and East Anglia THREE offshore windfarm in Suffolk which, once operational, will generate enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of 1.3 million British homes and will be the second biggest offshore wind farm in the world.

Delivery stations power the last mile of Amazon’s order process and help speed up deliveries for customers. Packages are shipped to a delivery station from neighbouring Amazon fulfilment and sortation centres, loaded into delivery vehicles and delivered to customers. Amazon’s Norwich delivery station opened in September 2016 and employs more than a hundred permanent employees to process customer orders.

Pay for employees at the delivery station in Norwich starts at £12.30 per hour and employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection and an employee discount. Since 2010, Amazon has invested over £2.1 billion in East Anglia, and more than 3,000 small and medium sized businesses from the region sell on the Amazon store.

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