EXPORTS MADE EASY
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The 1966 Export Services Exhibition reviewed by John Darker, AMBIM THE second Export Services Exhibition at Olympia this week was considerably greater in scope than last year's successful event, and more than 100 export specialists took part. Next year the organizers have booked the much larger National Hall at Olympia—which should be a good augury for the export drive.
Lord Brown, who opened the exhibition on Monday, tersely reminded his audience that despite the complexity of exporting procedures, "the fright which the prospect sometimes engenders is far more a result of lack of familiarity than of essential difficulty". He urged those providing export services to pay more attention to the standardization of terms and conditions with more detailed definition of the meaning of the terms used and with a clear description and clarification of the services provided.
The Transport Ferry Service, originators of the drive-on/drive-off service, publicized its increasingly popular facilities linking Britain to the Continent and to Ireland. It operates four services a week from Tilbury to Antwerp, and the same number from Felixstowe to Rotterdam; three services a week from Felixstowe to Antwerp; a daily service from Preston to Larne, and a once-weekly service from Tilbury to Rotterdam.
A TFS brochure oddly entitled "The Double Life of Albert Ogg" is designed to encourage British operators to complete their Continental deliveries with their own drivers. It waggishly offers all possible advice, anticipating Lord Brown's strictures, perhaps, to those who "wish to sell carpets to the Persians, caviar to the Muscovites, delight to the Turks, or courage to the Dutch......
Not far away, Van Gend and Loos, the largest transport and forwarding company in Holland, publicised its enviable Continental services and facilities. From 80 offices and goods terminals it operates about 2,000 vehicles and are expert at road/rail (piggy back) and conventional road/sea techniques, offering in addition freight broking, Customs clearance and warehousing services.
The daily door-to-door container service from the UK to Holland recently introduced by the Geest Line operates between Ipswich and Msa.sluis. Holland, delivery anywhere in Holland taking no more than 36 hours from any premises in Great Britain. Geest also provide exporting facilities and shipping services from Barry and Preston to the West Indies.
BOAC highlighted its new 40-ton capacity Boeing air cargo jets whose upper deck and two-belly compartments provide a cargo volume of nearly 10,000 cubic feet. The main compartment of these freighters will hold 13 cargo pallets each measuring 11 ft. 2 in. by 7 ft. 7 in. and loads up to a maximum length of 80 ft.. can be accommodated. BOAC claims that pallets loaded with 3 tons of general cargo can be loaded in 3+ minutes, the complete loading operation for the freighter taking only 45 minutes.
Another air freight specialist, DAC Air Services Ltd claims to engage more vehicles in the collection of air cargo than any other air forwarder. It collects and delivers thrice daily in the Greater London area and provides a regular daily service throughout the Home Counties.
Cross-Channel Trucks Ltd. (80 Fenchurch St., London EC3) offers a new rental service for TIR Trailers or containers. The trailer service, with a fleet including Crane Fruehauf, York and Merriworth, with 10metre tilt and box TIR machines, is available on a seven-day minimum rental period, daily hire rates varying from £4 10s. a day, for seven-day hire periods, to £3 17s. 6d. a day for a 28-day hire period. Container rental service charges vary with container capacities, and the minimum rental period is four weeks. Rental charges for a 20 ft. container work out at £12 a week reducing to £10 10s. for longer periods. Insurance is the responsibility of the hirer.
A door-to-door Continental trailer service is offered by AM Garage in conjunction with the experienced freight forwarding firm of W. B. Woolley and Co. Ltd. (24/25 Mark Lane, London EC3). A groupage service is another facility provided by this organization.
Cargo European Ltd., 121 Reddal Hill Road, Old Hill, Staffs., provides a specialised full load service by road from the Midlands to Europe and Scandinavia. It also runs door-to-door services to Holland, West Germany and elsewhere using containers.
Unit Loads Ltd., c/o James Fisher and Sons Ltd., The Dock, Felixstowe, employs the Fisher Line to Rotterdam for door-todoor container services. It also provides services to Northern Ireland and Eire and shipments to these countries may originate from Scandinavia or the Continent.
The European division of Sea-Land Service Inc. publicised the huge resources of this company, based in New Jersey. Currently it is carrying more than 5,000 containers on 19 trailerships and it controls about 12,000 trailers, and has interchange arrangement with 500 vehicle operators and 17 railway companies. Its trailer ships carry 226 containers with 60 trailer spaces for perishable commodities, and call directly at Rotterdam, Bremen and Grangemouth. Apart from all types of general cargo, bulk liquid containers carrying up to 5,150 gallons can in many cases be carried on trailer ships.
The proprietors of Hay's Wharf Ltd. featured their Continental Express Ltd. parcels service to Europe with facilities for sending parcels by air, road or rail. Agran Group Ltd., an associated Hay's Wharf company, provides a complete packaging service throughout the country, and the service is truly comprehensive including documentation, storage and transport. Another group company, Hay's Business Records Centre Ltd., stores documents, maps, samples, business stationery, even printing blocks, and undertakes microfilming where necessary. This service could well be a boon to transport firms with limited storage space, or which employ staff allergic to record keeping chores.
' Seawheel Ltd., with branches in London, Felixstowe, Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Preston and Birmingham, provides an international container service between the UK, Eire, the Continent and Scandinavia. Its 250 pieces of equipment include containers,' Lancashire flats, and TIR trailers. Its ISO containers have been built to stack up to six high in a ship's hold and it stresses that its approach to transport is highly competitive in rates and service provided.
The TOR line feature its Immingham service to Gothenburg and Amsterdam. Its fast ships will carry about 40 10-metre semitrailers plus 100 cars, though palletized and loose cargo is also carried.
Townsend Car Ferries is to introduce container traffic on its Dover to Calais and Dover to Zeebrugge short sea routes next January and rates, excluding lifting charges, will be the same as for trailers —35s. 6d, per linear foot loaded and 31s. unloaded.
The Roadferry organization arranged for representatives from its Continental and Scandinavian associated companies to be on its stand at Olympia, and any exporters seeking factual information on the details of European operations and the supervision of traffic could talk to English-speaking local experts.