by Roger Howell
Page 25
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
New P and 0 Group company to specialize container movements
A NEW COMPANY has been formed by the General Steam Navigation Company, a member of The -P and 0 Group, to specialize in UK/Continental door-to-door container operations, it was announced on Tuesday. Ascania Unit Loaders Ltd. based at Three Quays, Tower Hill, London, EC3, (tel.: 01-623 3000) will provide a full container service to merchants and shippers, and will take over many of the functions of the GSN Container Division.
The company will have its own fleet of ISO containers, and doubtless will make extensive use of the Tilbury/Rotterdam and Tilbury/ Dunkirk services operated by European Unit Routes. another P and 0 Group company.
The board of Ascania Unit Loaders Ltd. comprises Messrs. D. L. J. Mortelman, chairman: W. M. Lang and A. E. Shaw, Chief executive is Mr. R. A. Forster. A.U.L agents on the Continent are:– Antwerp–Continex N.V., 23 St. Paulusstraat, Antwerp.
Dunkirk-Societe de Consignation Maritime Franco-Britannique, 9 bis Quai de la Citadelle, Dunkirk.
Dusseldorf -Ascania Verkehrs Agentur G.m.b.H., Stresernann Strasse 14, 4 Diisseldorf.
Rotterdam–Global N.V., 7b Westersingel, Rotterdam.
40ft trailers for through deliveries
MANN AND SON (LONDON) LTD., general agent for Lion Ferry and Wallenius, has recently received delivery of .approximately 30 Merriworth trailers of 40ft length, which are being hired out for collection and delivery of containers in both the UK and in Germany. Each trailer is equipped with twistlocks to carry either 40ft, 30ft, 20ft, or 10ft ISO containers and also has a dual-purpose platform for general cargo.
Operating modern roll-on /roll-off vessels (Lion Ferry from Harwich to Bremerhaven with subsidiary routes radiating from that port, and Wallenius from Harwich to Scandinavia and Belgium), the shippers and their agent are attempting to obviate some of the known problems of conventional container operation experienced on the shorter routes. The new trailers are available for through operation, hence permitting delivery of containers direct to destination. Lifting charges are reduced and transport delays at terminal ports are minimized. Furthermore the trailers can be used with the full range of dry freight, refrigerated, and bulk liquid containers, hence offering greater flexibility than can be achieved with standard TIR trailer equipment. Mann and Son states that the service has been well received and is proving particularly useful to hauliers who find themselves in an embarrassing situation with too many of their own trailers on the far side of the water. Hauliers expecting traffic through Mann are advised to contact the trailer department as early as possible to ascertain whether containers are on wheels or stacked. If no ar rangements are made containers on trailers will be unloaded to the quay. The charge for the hire of the new equipment is £3 per day and, on inward traffic, commences from the arrival date of the vessel.
An identical hire system is operated in Germany by general agents Karl Geuther and Co.
CTI orders with Metro reach flm
THE latest order for 100 freight containers placed with Metro-Cammell Ltd, Birmingham, by the American-owned Container Transport International Inc. brings the total value of business between the two companies in 1968 to over flim. Last year over 500 units were delivered to CTI and since mid-1967 MetroCammelli has supplied over 800 units worth in excess of £350,000.
Orders are placed on a progressive basis, normally in batch lots of 50 or 100 to suit operating requirements. These are primarily for standard steel 20ft units for general cargo traffic, but a number of collapsible Metstak containers and open-toppers have also been supplied.
CTI is regarded as one of the largest container leasing organizations, and now operates a fleet of some 25,000 units, built up since 1959 /60.
Crane Fruehauf and Danish butter
THE Danish Butter Export Board has purchased 25 Crane Fruehauf insulated con tainers for the shipment of dairy produce from Denmark to the UK.
Model KB 6 fitted with FSP 4in. polyurethane, the 20ft containers are loaded in Denmark and cooled to the required temperature. If and when required, further cooling is possible by means of dry ice carried in a roof bunker. The temperature can be checked on an external thermometer. Dunnage batterris are fitted, and the plywood floor is protected with an overlay checker plate.
The exterior flush panelling is strikingly finished, painted in the Lurpak livery of red, blue and black lettering on a butter coloured background. Twenty-one of the containers will be operated by Butterdane, three by Plumrose and one by the Danish Butter and Cheese Export Boards and, although in the basic Lurpak livery, they will be shipped by each of the separate concerns.
Loaded at dairies in Denmark, the butter containers are shipped through the container terminal at Esbjerg, via the container transportation ships Suffolk or Somerset, arriving in the UK through the ports of Harwich, Grimsby or Felixstowe.
With the introduction of containers, Denmark has set out further to improve the method of exporting her butter to Britain. The shipment of the total butter exports in containers is regarded as likely within a few years, and a further estimated 125-150 containers will be needed to bring the fleet up to strength.