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Chemicals are meat and drink for pallet network

28th October 2004
Page 22
Page 22, 28th October 2004 — Chemicals are meat and drink for pallet network
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The Hazchem Network builds on the runanway success of pallet networks with a specialist next-day service. Jennifer Ball reports.

Until the launch of Palletline in 1991, pallet networks were unheard of. This meant that urgent single-pallet deliveries cost a fortune, and small consignments would only be taken when vehicles happened to be going in the required direction.

Today there are 10 networks running across the country and competition is fierce — understandably so when the amount of freight going through the networks has grown by 30% yearon-year and it is still on the up. But is there room for another player in the market?

Jim Scanlan certainly thinks so. He's the man behind The Pallet Network; now he's launching The Hazchem Network which, he claims, is the only network dedicated to the movement of hazardous goods. It will provide hauliers, whether they specialise in chemical work or only move three pallets a week, with the ability to make deliveries of small consignments the next day, from Penzance to Port Talbot or Paisley to Peckham.

"Pallet networks have grown and continue to show their benefits to UK plc," says Scanlan. "This is likely to continue with a number of other specialist networks likely to appear over the next few years."

The new network's centre of operations is a specially modified 5,200m2 hub near Rugby which can segregate ADR packaged products into various classes and groups. This. Scanlan says, will provide a robust method for storage and transhipment.

The hub is fitted with safety devices such as breathing apparatus, chemical protection suits, foam cannons and security and control systems. The firm's safety and technical director, chartered chemist Ali Karim, carries out a technical audit on all potential members before they are admitted to membership of the network. The system is run using an IT system from Deltion, which has been integrated with the National Chemical Emergency Centre's UN Number Database. It enables the hub operator to see where in the hub the hazardous product needs to be stored prior to being reloaded. If a truck is involved in an accident, it will allow the load to be viewed securely from the hub while the details are relayed to the emergency services.

Handy for operators The launch is good news for many operators who may have considered moving away from moving hazardous goods due to the new Carriage of Dangerous Goods and Use of Transportable Pressure Equipment Regulations 2004, which came into force last May. This brought the UK into line with the rest of the EU by including operations which handle dangerous goods in small quantities.

Consequently, many operators who had not considered themselves to be working in the hazgoods sector, came into the scope of the regs. For example, changes to the package-size thresholds even require carriers of household goods, such as aerosols, to consider the application of the regulations.

The Hazchem Network promises to exploit a niche market within the thriving pallet sector. It has already signed up 20 members including James Pugh & Son, Nicholson Transport and Link Logistics. It was launched on 11 October and is already shifting around 100 pallets a night.

Rick Pugh from James Pugh & Son believes it's a great idea: "We have tried to use other networks but they have not worked very well because of the specialist goods that we carry.

-Having a network dedicated to chemicals means that there is a higher level of knowledge and care surrounding the goods. We have found it increasingly difficult to subcontract chemical work out since changes to ADR regulations and this means we can transport goods for our customers even when we haven't got a vehicle on that route," he concludes. •


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