“Our recent acquisitions in the perishables market have concentrated on the export side, but we also want to increase our footprint in key import markets and build our end-to-end perishables capabilities at major gateways such as Frankfurt and, as demonstrated yesterday, Amsterdam. These latest developments are further important steps towards offering complete end-to-end solutions on a global scale as we continue to expand our Perishables Network.”
FINLAND – Evac, a leading provider of integrated waste, wastewater, and water management systems for the marine, offshore, and building industries, is to be acquired by private equity group Bridgepoint.
Headquartered in Espoo, Finland, Evac was established in 1979 and to date has successfully completed over 20,000 marine, 2,000 offshore, and 2,000 building projects for customers around the world. The company has offices in Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, South Korea, Norway, Sweden, and the USA, as well as representatives in more than 40 countries.
The investment in Evac group is being made by Bridgepoint Europe V, a €4 billion pan-European fund that made its first investment in January 2015. The fund typically focuses on acquiring well-managed companies in attractive sectors and supports management teams by investing in expansion, operational transformation, or via consolidating acquisitions. Evac Group CEO Tomi Gardemeister:
“We are looking forward to working with Bridgepoint as they share our ambition for long-term profitable growth and will work with us to identify new growth opportunities and expansion areas. Bridgepoint’s extensive knowledge and fresh perspectives will also serve to enhance the considerable in-house expertise we already have at our disposal.”
US – RK Logistics Group, a third-party logistics (3PL) provider, has announced a major expansion of operations with the opening of a new 50,000-square-foot distribution centre in Fremont, California.
The new warehouse, which will provide specialised inventory management, fulfilment and expedited plant delivery services for Silicon Valley companies, increases RK’s network to 14 supply chain operations in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, representing over 800,000 square feet of logistics and distribution capacity. Rod Kalune, Chairman and CEO of RK Logistics Group, said:
“This is a major investment for our company and we’re excited to be able to create nearly two dozen new jobs for the community. This advanced logistics facility has been purpose-designed to serve the strict quality and delivery requirements of the Bay Area’s high-tech and automotive manufacturing industries, as well as medical device, high-value engineered building products and just-in-time retail replenishment.”
Services at the new facility include: secured warehousing and inventory management for parts, components and finished goods; inventory optimisation, order picking and fulfillment; and light manufacturing such as pre-assembly and kitting. The site will also support RK’s specialised transportation programmes for sequencing parts into Lean production lines at automotive and technology equipment factories, as well as just-in-time deliveries to construction sites.
US – The project to replace the Gerald Desmond Bridge is nearing the phase that will impact waterway traffic so the Port of Long Beach (POLB) Waterway Traffic Coordinator has provided a tentative schedules of Back Channel use.
The bridge is a vital part of the nation's infrastructure, with nearly 15% of the United States waterborne cargo trucked across the bridge. It is a critical access route for the Port of Long Beach, downtown Long Beach and surrounding communities.
The new bridge will be built with a cable-stayed design and will be high enough to accommodate the newest generation of the most efficient cargo ships. In addition, the new bridge will be wider and better able to accommodate existing and future traffic volumes.
The first stage, scheduled to commence in late October, will consist of two barges delivering and subsequently lifting equipment, which will take approximately two weeks, one week for each tower. There will be two days of discharging equipment at tower bases on the east and west side of the channel. Both the hours and days will be broadcast prior to channel usage.
The second stage of bridge construction is the erection and building of twelve bridge deck segments spanning the channel. This requires a barge to spud down and will restrict hours of Back Channel usage. The preliminary schedule for this operation is spring of 2018 (tentatively April). It is currently estimated that this barge will be in the channel for 18 days of each month, for a period of seven months, to complete work over the water.
The days and hours will be communicated in advance to channel users by the US Coast Guard, and through courtesy notifications by the POLB. At this time, the proposed schedule for channel safety zone hours are 0800-1400 and 2000-0200.
CHILE – Shipping Line Norden has entered into a 10-year contract on transportation of road salt from Chile. The contract will be in force during the years 2020-2029 and covers the transportation of a total of 4-5 million tonnes of road salt to be loaded in Caleta Patillos 1,400 kilometres north of the Chilean capital Santiago and discharged primarily on the American East Coast in ports between Boston and Baltimore.
The contract covers 8-10 voyages per year of 50,000 tonnes each. A voyage is expected to take approximately 30 days and the vessels will pass through the Panama Canal to get from the South American West Coast to US East Coast. Michael Boetius, Head of Period Tonnage & Industrial Bulk at Norden, said:
“We are proud to extend our partnership with Empremar for another 10 years. This is not just fulfilling the ambition of strengthening our ties with highly respected partners, but also a contract with voyages that optimises Norden’s existing business. The new contract enables Norden to position vessels at the eastern coast of North America where they can be deployed to fulfil other long-term contracts carrying wood pellets to Europe.”
AUSTRALIA – INDIA – One of Volga-Dnepr’s IL-76TD-90VD freighters helped Air Charter Service to ensure the quick and cost efficient transportation of a 27-tonne outsize drilling machine from Perth, Australia, to a mining project in India.
Destined for Ahmedabad, the largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat, the sensitive piece of mining equipment measured over 15 metres in length and was more than three metres high. Shahvez Jafary, Commercial Director ACS India, said:
“Weeks of planning went into the charter and we worked very closely with the Volga-Dnepr loadmaster on the day to make sure that the awkward-shaped drilling machine was loaded with the minimum of fuss. Our client had initially asked for an An-124 to move their cargo, but we saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars by suggesting Volga-Dnepr’s IL-76.
Photo: The Gerald Desmond Bridge
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