A quick SIFT for nternational freight
Page 26
Page 27
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
)y Gordon Murray.
rhe Midlands' new inland clearance terminal is rapidly proving ts worth
11TH international road freight likely ) keep on growing regardless of ritain's continued membership of the. EC, the Midlands' new inland clearrice depot seems assured of a -busy 'lure and is already establishing a ;putation for speedy load clearance. Sutton International Freight erminal (SIFT) at Sutton-in-Ashfield, otts, is the private £750.000 venture of Nottingham-based company, G. W. hompion Jewitt Ltd. On a 10-acre site ; the entrance to the Fulwood Inastrial Estate, it is well placed for Iidlands industry, the motorway netork and roads to many ports.
As well as inland clearance by NM ustoms, the terminal (which occupies 6 acres) has warehousing and distriition facilities, including 8,556 sqm 2,000 sq ft) of covered warehousing -Kier one roof. Adjoining the ware)use is a 41/2-acre guarded lorry and ailer compound.
Planning of SIFT began about three ;ars ago and stage one was opened in lnuary this year. Phases two and three 1975 will provide offices for rent by ternational freight agents, worklops, refuelling bays, drive-through :hide washing and a drivers' motel. The terminal is operated by a separate ■ mpany within the Thompson Jewitt oup and has been laid out to take the rgest likely vehicles. The 134 m (440ft) ading dock will accommodate 40 12m Oft) trailers simultaneously.
Mr C. P. Cooper, senior transport ecutive told me that the T.J. Group Duld be a major user of the terminal It stressed that the facilities, are availle to other operators, for rapid and )uble-free clearance of import/ export nsignments, full loads or groupage. The company can also provide goods .•-•eiving and handling (about 25 wareRise staff are employed at the moment id all handling is done by SIFT staff). icumentation, customs entry preparam, all aspects of import procedure, Ilection, delivery and storage services r operators using the terminal. At the moment the SIFT complex is handling about 30 loads each way per week into and out of the country; the first target has been set at 100 loads per week. Initial experience has shown that the turn-round time for a trailer, from reaching a port to Sutton-in-Ashfield and back to the port is within 24 hours. • Loads clear the _ports with customs seals intact, and no delays, drive up fo Sutton-in-Ashfield and into the security compound. There the seals are broken and the freight is cleared by one of three customs officers who are stationed at the terminal. On clearance, the load can be taken from the bonded transit warehouse to the main warehouse where all facilities exist for storage, break-bulk, re-grouping and re-loading. Loads or part-loads for onward carriage are positioned on grids on the warehouse floor which are directly related to their eventual geographical location in the front part of the warehouse.
Long-term storage is at the rear of the warehouse where cargo can be stored after customs clearance to await delivery instructions. But the emphasis is on speed of processing and Mr Cooper stressed that the terminal will not be used as a holding unit for goods.
The operations centre, employing about 20 people, masterminds the activity of the terminal including customs clearance of goods from Scandinavia, West Germany. Austria, France, Italy and other countries, and is equipped with Telex facilities, photo copiers and bilingual staff, to help speer the flow of cargo. There is a full round the-clock security guard seven days c week manned by employees of SIFT tc safeguard vehicles and cargo, and al vehicle standing areas are paved.
Mr Cooper said that although th, investment in the new complex comes a a time when many operators must b, uncertain of the future the parent groui is to some extent insulated from th, present recession by the record level o imports and exports.
The Thompson Jewitt TIR transpor fleet consists of 18 tractive unit operating with 45 12m (40ft) semi trailers. This is considered to be a optimum fleet size and, although th company is keen to increase its busineR future growth is likely to be made b sub-contracting.
The facilities offered by SIFT depc should be particularly interesting to th owner-driver operating Continerm haulage as the expertise in handlin goods and documentation could take great deal of the load from h shoulders.
About half of the T.J. Group's ow Continental journeys are unaccorr panied movements. Because of th weekend restrictions on the movemer of heavy goods vehicles in Germany an France most of the loads for th Continent are made up on Thursday and Fridays, for shipment throug Dover on Sunday.
A typical timetable for the run, t Zurich would be as follows: loadin Thursday or Friday for shipment o Sunday, arrive at the Swiss associai company's premises in Zurich Tuesda evening. Offload and reload Wedne! day, return to catch the late Friday nigl ferry back to Dover.
Although the company does use othr ports the bulk of its crossings, apa from those to Scandinavian countrie are routed through Dover.