SLIC approach
Page 47
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YOU'RE NEVER very far from an inland clearance depot these days (see maps on pages 46 and 47) and they are all expecting even more business this year: for next month duty is coming off some EEC goods and it is being eased on even more, with anticipated growth in trade. Besides this, South Africa will be coming on stream with containers in October. Pilot runs are in operation now.
But London has an ICD with a difference: it's at Plough Way, SE16, and is run by London Comprehensive Freight Services Ltd -registered trading name SLIC.
-We can offer a complete package," group chairman Ralph Hilton told me. "A shipper who normally goes to a transport contractor to bring goods in can now come to one company to look after his transport -we've 350 vehicles from 32-tonners mainly with the Cummins in-line engine, down to small vans -his general storage, if required, after Customs clearance, arid storage of his container. We can, for instance, repair a damaged container, whether steel, aluminium or fibreglass.'"
Charles Graham, group marketing manager, added: "Business has snowballed because of the facilities we have here to back up the ICD.
"There is certainly not another company like this in the UK, and I don't know of any other on the Continent or in the Middle East. Even at Europoort, where all the facilities are in situ, the repairs facilities and so on are in the hands of different customers.
SLIC is part of a group's Surrey Docks complex totalling 35 acres with 450,000sqft of warehousing. SLIC itself occupies a site area of five acres (bounded with its own perimeter fence) on which there is an import building of 54,000sqft and an export building of 45,000sqft. Resident Customs offers are housed with SLIC whose services include station presentation of entries facilities.
Apart from managerial and supervisory staff SLIC employs 30 registered port employees. Fork trucks from 4,000lb to 20,000lb are part of their equipment together with container stuffers. loading ramps and vehicle shunt units which are all kept exclusively for their use. Canteen and the usual facilities are available on site for driver-accompanied Vehicles. Ample parking is available for collection and delivery on site. • Hilton Amalgamated Transport Ltd is the holding company and wholly owns several operational companies: London Comprehensive Freight Services Ltd (SLIC) at Surrey Docks and Harwich; W. B. S. Transport Ltd at Surrey Docks, West Ferry Road, E14, River Road, Barking, and at Bilston and Bristol; Container Storage Services Ltd at Surrey Docks; and William Beadle Subsidiaries Ltd at Surrey Docks.
The group employs 500 personnel.
''ICDs in this country are the equal of any in the world," said Ralph Hilton. -And our
dockers are skilled men -often underestimated.
"The advantage of exporting goods via an approved ICD is that the container can be sealed and so not presented to the Customs at the port of departure. Lots of places loading exports are not Customs approved: if you go there all the documents concerning the load have to be presented to the Customs at the port, and this can incur considerable delays and a complete out-turn of goods.
"If this country was not containerised Britain just could not live: We would out-price ourselves."
• John Durant