Land, Sea & Air Issue 150 November 2017

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Land,Sea Air

Incorporating Shipping & Marine

The magazine for transport and logistics

November 2017 • issue 150 www.landseaairmagazine.com

Multi-skilled

support

Ian Jacobs, COO of Solent Stevedores, explains how the business continually evolves in order to meet the needs of the market

News

Range Rover launches plug-in hybrid electric model l

Warehousing Robots are here to stay and they can transform the modern warehouse

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Industrial pipes reprocessed at Port of Lowestoft

BP Ventures invests in ‘on demand’ private jet charter marketplace

Logistics Suggestions to reduce congestion and overcome the last mile challenge

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LS A contents Chairman Andrew Schofield

Features

Managing Director Joe Woolsgrove

2 News

Editor Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Assistant Editor Will Daynes Production Manager Fleur Daniels Art Editor/Design David Howard Advertising Design Fiona Jolliffe Production dhoward@schofieldpublishing.co.uk studio@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Advertisement Administrator Tracy Chynoweth studio@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

Announcements and developments from the logistics, materials handling, maritime and aviation markets

4 Logistics The critical issue of traffic congestion in cities and some suggestions as to how smarter logistics solutions can help

@Land,Sea&Air

Schofield Publishing

Cringleford Business Centre, 10 Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich, NR4 6AU, U.K. Tel: 044 (0)1603 274130 www.landseaairmagazine.com

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Sea

23 Solent Stevedores 33 Gwadar Port Authority

8 Training

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The UK maritime industry needs to invest in workforce capability, as this will drive both performance and customer confidence

10 Warehousing The modern warehouse can demonstrate how the most advance robotic techniques are already in use and transforming operations

13 Roads Follow us at:

21 KB Transport Solutions

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Editorial Researchers Rory Gallacher Jo-Ann Jeffery Jeff Goldenberg

Subscriptions ikidd@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

18 Fowler Welch

Why the freight sector needs to lead the way when it comes to actionable data gleaned from Industry 4.0 technology

Operations Director Philip Monument

Web Sales Darren Jolliffe djolliffe@schofieldpublishing.co.uk

16 K&R Transporte GmbH & R&B Spedition GmbH

6 Industry 4.0

Editorial Administrator Emma Crane

Advertising Sales Mark Cawston Tim Eakins Darren Jolliffe Jonas Junca Dave King Rob Wagner Theresa McDonald

Land

A brief history of Britain’s roadways and some pointers into what we can expect in the future including the move to smart highways

14 WesCom Signal and Rescue Previously known as Drew Marine Signal and Safety, WesCom Signal and Rescue is the world’s leading marine distress signal manufacturer

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39 Northlink Ferries 44 Port of Gibraltar 46 Dellner Brakes

Air

49 Smartlynx Airlines

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©2017 Schofield Publishing Ltd

Please note: The opinions expressed by contributors and advertisers within this publication do not necessarily coincide with those of the editor and publisher. Every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the information published is accurate, and correct at time of writing, but no legal responsibility for loss occasioned by the use of such information can be accepted by the publisher. All rights reserved. The contents of the magazine are strictly copyright, the property of Schofield Publishing, and may not be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Silent luxury

October saw the launch of Range Rover’s plug-in hybrid electric model, which drove onto the catwalk at the Design Museum in London, in EV mode – in silence. The efficient new Range Rover P400e plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) combines a 300PS (221kW) 2.0-litre four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine with a 116PS (85kW) electric motor.

The 404PS (297kW) total available power output is capable of 0-60mph in 6.4 seconds (0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds) and a maximum speed of 137mph (220km/h). Thanks to its electrified powertrain, the Range Rover P400e has a range of up to 31 miles (51km) in electric vehicle (EV) mode. The lithium-ion battery can be fully charged in as little as two hours 45 minutes.

The vehicle also includes comfort-enhancing functions for the driver and passengers.

Bright future Students graduating from the Aerospace & Aviation programmes at the University of Limerick are now employed at some of the top aerospace companies around the world, including Rolls Royce, Boeing, Airbus, GECAS, Aero Inspection International, IATA, Embraer and Qatar Airways. School of Engineering Professor and chair of aeronautical engineering, Michael McCarthy believes that we will soon ‘see a growing presence of IT graduates in aerospace companies, as the effects of Big Data, machine-learning and increasingly sophisticated robot-controlled productions, take root.’

Over the last six to seven years, the University has seen a rise in students applying for the aviation and aerospace degree programmes, due to the development of five new courses, and as Professor McCarthy noted, the future looks very bright for aerospace and aviation graduates. “The industry is virtually guaranteed to grow faster than global GDP over the next 20-25 years,” he said.

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Super sub A futuristic flying fish-styled defence system for the Royal Navy, has been envisaged by Saab Seaeye systems engineer, Ali Roy. With defence dangers acute at the waterline, she designed an organic shaped concept with the nimble agility to both fly and swim - to avoid detection or pursue a quarry. Joining a team of the UK’s brightest and most talented young engineers and scientists Ali was tasked by the Royal Navy, along with the rest of the group, to imagine submarines of the future. The young British scientists and engineers were gathered together under FutureNest, an offset of UKNEST, a not-for-profit forum that promotes the engineering, science and technology interests of UK Naval Defence.

Along with Ali Roy’s flying concept, there was a crewed mothership shaped like a manta ray, unmanned eel-like vessels equipped with sensor pods which dissolve on demand to avoid enemy detection, and fish-shaped torpedoes sent to swarm against enemy targets.

Commander Peter Pipkin, the Royal Navy’s Fleet Robotics Officer, said: “With more than 70 per cent of the planet’s surface covered by water, the oceans remain one of the world’s great mysteries and untapped resources. It’s predicted that in 50 years’ time there will be more competition between nations to live and work at sea or under it. So, it’s with this in mind that the Royal Navy is looking at its future role, and how it will be best equipped to protect Britain’s interests around the globe.”

French-Italian roadmap Naval Group and Fincantieri have welcomed the decision of the French and Italian governments to launch a joint process paving the way for the future creation of a progressive alliance in the naval defence sector. The two groups will play a key role in the steering committee with the objective to define a roadmap detailing the principles of the future alliance by June 2018.

Furthermore, the agreement reached by the two Governments on the shareholding structure of STX France foreseeing the presence of both Naval Group and Fincantieri represents a first important step and an opportunity to go forward in naval co-operation.

Naval Group CEO Hervé Guillou and Fincantieri CEO Giuseppe Bono declared: “Our two groups have already successfully co-operated on the Horizon and FREMM frigates programmes and we look forward to achieving our European ambitions together.”

Pocket travel solution Nice Cote d’Azur Airport has launched its ‘E-Concierge’, a mobile app that is a hybrid personal assistant developed for travellers, to help both Côte d’Azur locals and tourists organise their everyday lives and their stay.

Nice Côte d’Azur airport’s personal assistant has several tricks up its sleeve: all kinds of reservations (plane tickets, taxis, rooms for different budgets and tastes, check-in, etc.), practical information (weather, airport traffic, possible delays, etc.), advice (itineraries, best nearby restaurants, leisure activities, etc.), appointment booking (professional, health, education) and more.

Available 24/7, E-Concierge isn’t just a loyal assistant. It is also multilingual, working in French, English and even Chinese. Furthermore, as well as artificial intelligence to provide fast, effective responses, there are human operators to ensure that these responses are high-quality, natural and personalised.

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LS A news Pipe rescue

$10 million investment

An array of giant industrial pipes, which were rescued following an incident in the North Sea, are being reprocessed at the Port of Lowestoft as part of a sustainability project.

ABP’s Lowestoft team have been working closely with the Salvors and the Environment Agency, to agree a sustainable reprocessing method to allow the pipes to be safely cut into 12-metre lengths. As part of the operation cut sections of pipe will be lifted from Lake Lothing onto the port’s quays for storage before being exported for reprocessing overseas.

Andrew Harston, ABP Short Sea Ports Director, said: “It is fantastic that we have managed to step in and support this reprocessing project and we look forward to working with all parties involved to ensure that operations run smoothly and leave a minimal impact on the environment. This is a great example of the type of flexibility and service that is regularly delivered by the ABP team at Lowestoft.”

BP’s BP Ventures and Air BP businesses have created a strategic partnership with Victor, one of the world’s leading ‘on-demand’ marketplaces for private jet charters. As part of the partnership, BP Ventures has committed to investing $10 million in Victor.

In addition, Air BP has entered into a commercial agreement to become the preferred fuel supplier for flights arranged via the Victor digital platform at Air BP locations.

This investment is part of BP Ventures strategy to invest to accelerate the development, commercial viability and deployment of digital technologies and offers across the BP group. Air BP, which has a growing digital presence, stands to further benefit from this new collaboration.

Victor launched in 2011, providing quick, easy and efficient ‘on demand’ jet charter booking services for flyers by connecting them with business and private jet operators using a proprietary digital platform underpinning its sales, marketing and customer service functions. This smart, data-driven platform, and a uniquely transparent customer proposition, has enabled it to operate more efficiently – at a lower cost than many traditional charter brokers.

Victor’s customer-friendly mix of ‘hi-tech and high touch’ has also delivered 946 per cent revenue growth over recent years. Victor has helped drive the transformation of private jet chartering.

Recruitment revolution A new online platform has been launched that aims to change the way companies operating in the logistics and supply chain industries recruit personnel – from drivers to CEOs – forever. Called Vidu, the technology uses video and social media to bring employers and potential candidates together in a way that removes much of the time involved in the traditional recruitment process and dramatically reduces the costs involved in advertising and hiring.

Designed to be easy for both employers and job-hunters to engage, Vidu’s intuitive steps allow a company or an individual to quickly build an interactive profile. “Vidu allows employers to meet the person behind the CV before beginning the interview process. Vidu’s technology makes real people accessible immediately at the click of a button and making more candidate DNA available to employers preinterview delivers a faster, more cost-effective and reliable recruitment process,” explains Vidu founder Nicky Jones. “As well as the usual generic performance issues, in my experience one of the biggest reasons why candidates do not work out is a cultural misfit. Traditional recruitment methodologies, such as vetting face-to-face, psychometric tests, interviews etc, do not always flush out a cultural misfit. They also take a lot of management time, cost and resource and also cost the candidates time and money in wasted journeys and interviews.

“Getting a more modern, open and honest view on candidates immediately is refreshing and is a highly useful tool that is currently missing in the traditional recruitment process. Employers sharing more about their business environment with candidates and candidates sharing more about themselves through video, and social media on one platform is a win-win.”

World’s first discovery yacht V.Ships Leisure, part of V.Group, has been awarded a contract

by Scenic for the technical and hotel operation management for the world’s first discovery yacht, Scenic Eclipse, which is due to be delivered in August 2018.

The ultra-luxury expedition vessel is under construction at the Uljanik Shipyard in Croatia and is the first ocean vessel for owner Scenic, which operates 22 river cruise ships globally. Technical management for the vessel will be provided by V.Ships Leisure in Monaco and on board will be 50 deck and engine crew along with 106 hotel crew. V.Ships Leisure will also provide itinerary planning and port operation with hotel operation services to be provided by V.Group’s Oceanic Catering business.

Per Bjornsen, V.Ships Leisure director said: “We are delighted to be able to bring our unique experience with start-ups, expedition vessels and the ultra-luxury market to support Scenic in their newest venture. Combining the experience within V.Ships Leisure with the wider V.Group, we are able to provide Scenic with a complete solution for this exciting new venture.”

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City

limits Congestion is a critical city logistics issue.

Gavin Parnell explores some of the many solutions to getting deliveries through the last mile challenge

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ongestion, created by both road freight and passenger vehicles, means slower speeds resulting in longer trip times. Factors are mounting to make congestion a critical urban logistics issue, not least the rapidly expanding urban population. The latest ONS figures reveal a 3.4 per cent growth in UK city regions between 2011 and 2015 compared to a 2.5 per cent growth in the rest of the UK. London, which stands apart as a global ‘megatropolis’, grew by 5.7 per cent – twice the national rate and is forecast to be knocking on the door of ten million residents by 2024.

Londoners are living and working in an increasing number of buildings converted into multi-tenanted developments and new, mixed-use skyscrapers. These densely populated buildings generate multiple deliveries but often lack a consolidated loading bay and internal delivery system, resulting in delivery drivers parking vehicles while making time consuming treks to find the apartment or office.

A corresponding shift in retail dynamics has seen the growth of convenience stores supported by little and often deliveries. Then there is the e-commerce revolution that has made free, next day and same day delivery the new norm. To deal with all of this, many retailers are operating large distribution centres outside cities as hubs, which deliver to smaller depots within the inner city. From there, the last mile becomes the most challenging and expensive portion of the delivery journey.

Delivery vans can negotiate the obstacles of urban deliveries

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better than large lorries but lack their economies of scale, thus there are more on the streets. According to Department of Transport (DoT) road traffic estimates for Great Britain, a decline in lorry traffic on urban roads (a reduction of 0.8 billion vehicle miles between 2000 and 2016, has been offset by a corresponding increase in van traffic on these roads (an increase of 4.5 billion vehicle miles over the same period).

There is, however, a smorgasbord of interesting ideas and trials taking place around the word that could reduce congestion and help overcome the last mile challenge.

Pedal power In Berlin, courier service Messenger Transport + Logistics has rolled out the BentoBox. This transportable storage locker can be loaded with parcels and then dropped off at a central depot after working hours. The courier deploys cargo bikes to achieve quick, cost efficient, emission free and almost silent distribution of the goods to the depot for customer collection the next day.

TNT is doing something similar in Brussels, one of the most congested cities in Europe. Its mobile depot is a trailer that contains a large number of parcels. It is towed to a central location in the city after peak traffic has subsided. Last-mile drivers deliver the parcels in small electric or human-powered vehicles.

According to a report by the EU-funded research project CycleLogistics, an estimated 51 per cent of goods transported

LOGISTICS

in cities could be shifted to bicycles and cargo bikes, significantly reducing emissions and congestion.

The Cubicycle, developed in the Netherlands in association with DHL, has taken ease of delivery a step further. This express delivery vehicle has a reclining seat for the courier that allows for greater comfort, safety and speed. Electric pedal assistance helps when climbing hills, and it is easy to handle, with a tight turning cycle. DHL has launched two pilots of this City Hub concept— one in Frankfurt, Germany’s fifth largest city, and another in Utrecht in the Netherlands, which recently announced the target of becoming climate-neutral by 2030.

Many of Gothenburg’s streets are now pedestrianised and parking is severely limited. Restrictions mean that normal deliveries with vans and lorries are only allowed between 5am and 10am on the main streets. Private transport companies are encouraged to leave their packages at a freight consolidation terminal from where Stadsleveransen’s (the City Delivery) fleet of two electric cars and two cargo bikes carry the goods the final few kilometres. The Swedish city has an 800-kilometre network of bike paths, including reducedspeed mixed zones.

An electric powered bike and walker trailers to deliver packages is undergoing live trial testing by UPS in the City of Westminster. Its innovation is that the weight of the trailer is not felt by the handler, allowing for increased last mile deliveries by foot or cycling. Six trailers can be dropped into a busy city centre by a single van, allowing the trailer system to easily cover a large urban area.

The technology route In addition to alternative transport modes, technology can be deployed to reduce traffic. For example, parcel tracking systems can automatically send customers a text message to inform them of an imminent delivery. This enables customers to meet couriers at their door, minimising the time that a truck has to idle outside creating congestion by either double parking or cruising the immediate area in search of a loading bay or parking spot.

It is helpful to identify traffic hotspots – ie, roads where congestion forces drivers to drop their speed by 65 per cent for at least two minutes. During September 2016, data analysis company Inrix monitored traffic on every road in 123 cities including London, Cardiff, Paris and Hamburg. It found more than 20,300 so-called ‘traffic hotspots’ in UK cities – well over double the number in Germany and twice that of France.

Efficient route scheduling and load optimisation systems are well known to the logistics sector as being helpful in finding the most efficient delivery routes and reduce partial or empty loads – some 30 per cent of truck journeys are empty in the UK. Many are looking to autonomous vehicles to contribute to more efficient traffic flows. These self-driving machines, equipped with ‘intelligent’ mapping systems and connected to a vast pool of data stored in the Cloud, will be able to anticipate congestion and dynamically reroute accordingly, ensuring that the best route is always followed.

Better organised Delivery will be speeded up if it can be switched to less congested ‘out of hours’ periods. In London for instance, the majority of deliveries and freight journeys normally take place between 07:00 and 11:00 when the roads are busiest. During the London 2012

Olympic Games, however, many businesses avoided disruption by changing the times of their deliveries.

A collaborative approach will reduce the number of different delivery vans clogging up the same street. An example of this is the appointment by the Crown Estate of 3PL, Clipper Logistics to operate the Regent Street delivery consolidation scheme. The 3PL worked with retailers on Regent Street and in the West End to bring together deliveries despatched from a single consolidation centre. The centre brings together consumables from all suppliers to one easily accessible point outside the congestion charging zone, combining deliveries with other West End companies to streamline a previously complex and inefficient system into a simple and effective one. The system has reduced vehicle movements to participating stores by up to 85 per cent.

Other ideas have been tried to improve congestion on major roads within towns and cities, with a limited amount of success including: High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes to promote carpooling; reversible lanes, applied at peak periods on busy routes; tolls and congestion charges.

All these measures can alleviate the problem but will not solve it. Congestion is partly the result of governments not being able to reconcile demands for road use with the available supply.

Transport for London (TfL) is taking a lead by encouraging logistics companies and transporters to develop a Delivery and Servicing Plan (DSP) that should help individual firms manage their deliveries better and save money as a result. TfL will use these voluntary plans to provide input for urban planning and road network projects.

One thing is for sure: without action, congestion in cities will make it increasingly more difficult to fulfil everyday life in the manner that everybody has come to expect. l Gavin Parnell is director of Go Supply Chain. Go Supply Chain Consulting Limited is a logistics consultancy firm offering supply chain and logistics consulting services to clients across industry sectors including retail, FMCG, fashion, automotive and technology.

The company is independent from logistics service providers and vendors of equipment and systems. Clients range from global corporations to fast-growing, entrepreneurial companies. Go Supply Chain works both in the UK and internationally – the team has completed projects in 16 countries. www.gosupplychain.com www.landseaairmagazine.com - 5

Fully

connected While recent figures from the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF) confirm that only 30 per cent of UK manufacturers have a strategy in place for Industry 4.0 (4IR), David Williams believes that the freight sector needs to lead the way when it comes to the use of actionable data

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hile many big players within the logistics sector are already well down the 4IR route, too few are shouting about this capability to their customers in manufacturing.

Furthermore, a more proactive approach to the adoption of machine-to-machine (M2M) data monitoring could dramatically improve our industry’s defence against potential cyber-attack and malware.

Ahead of the data curve As an industry, we are adept at managing data to report on product flows wherever they may be in the world. This ability to interpret large amounts of information and then turn it into a simple command is the very essence of 4IR. As an industry, we’ve been ahead of the curve but not really appreciated it.

We need to realise that our customers in manufacturing could learn a lot from our experience, which puts us in a great position to become a really effective catalyst of change. While a lot of the 4IR debate is focused within the manufacturing environment, we shouldn’t forget that the logistics industry has been embracing the 4IR mantra for quite a few years.

The use of actionable data is not new to Rhenus Logistics, whose Freight Industry Solutions team in Germany has recently been recognised for its work in this area.

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The ‘smart sourcing’ concept actively monitors and manages the complete transportation and flow of information, the processes, the suppliers and the logistics partners. The key success factors in the concept are the web-based communications platform known as RSCC (Rhenus Supply Chain Connect), the control tower that is used and the standardised management of partners. All the procedures are handled fully automatically, ranging from the request sent to the supplier (order) to the transport advice note and even settling accounts with the transport service companies.

The control tower recognises and resolves any disruptions that occur before they become a problem. The faults that happen are documented in a ticket system, assessed and then remedied at source using a standardised partner and supplier management system. As a result, the supply chain is transparent and maintained in such a way that logistics costs, for example, can be reduced in the long term through reductions in stocks or optimising or eliminating processes.

The award confirms our successful approach of developing innovative concepts together with our customers by talking to them. The fact that we’re receiving the award in one of the leading business regions in Europe is a matter of pride for us.

Industry 4.0

Taking on the cyber criminals While this summer’s attack on a leading logistics provider has hit the global parcel business, this malware attack should not deter logistics businesses from embracing Industry 4.0.

Indeed, the widespread adoption of internet of things (IoT) technology across the supply chain is vital to the sector’s future success. While there are certainly issues of security and operational hygiene that need to be addressed, achieving endto-end supply chain visibility is the ultimate goal.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding and ignorance out there about Industry 4.0, IoT and M2M technology. They are all different buzzwords for what is effectively the same thing – useable data.

It’s only now that the logistics industry has the affordable technology to collect and then process huge amounts of data, which can be processed in a way that enables us to make more informed decisions. In a nutshell, that’s what the IoT is all about.

Industry 4.0 is vital to the future of the freight and logistics sector. And don’t just take it from me. A report undertaken by consultancy PwC confirms that while 50 per cent of respondents said that the use of data was very important for their business today, this would increase to 90 per cent in three years’ time. Similarly, 65 per cent of companies surveyed

agreed that investment in Industry 4.0 technology would provide a return on investment within two years.

While the PwC report paints a positive attitude towards Industry 4.0, this survey reflects the views of ‘c-suite’, senior managers within global businesses such as ours. What the industry needs to really embrace the potential of IoT is a more widespread appreciation of what this technology can do for us. We also need to understand that the risk of cyberattacks should not halt our adoption of 41R – we just need to understand the risk and ensure that our networks are secure. l David Williams is managing director of Rhenus Logistics UK. The Rhenus Group provides logistics services around the globe and has annual turnover amounting to EUR 4.8 billion. Rhenus employs over 28,000 people at more than 580 locations worldwide. The Rhenus business areas – Contract Logistics, Freight Logistics, Port Logistics and Public Transport – manage complex supply chains and provide a wealth of innovative value-added services. http://www.uk.rhenus.com www.landseaairmagazine.com - 7

Sharpen

up

Why investing in workforce capability is fundamental to the success of the UK maritime industry. By Phil Sunley

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ntil recently, investment in workforce learning and development has been lacking in the British maritime industry. Studies have shown that 30 per cent of the non-productive time in the sector is related to aspects which directly relate to the capability of the workforce.

Capability can incorporate a range of key areas; from an operational perspective executing work in a structured manner, poor job preparation, lack of co-ordination between services and reworking of project elements. Investing in the correct training and development strategies would allow the industry to save millions of pounds each year, as well as benefitting the long-term workforce.

As technology moves forward, are maritime professionals being left in the past?

The maritime industry is a specialist industry requiring a mix of technical and project management skills. In recent years, it has made technological advances, including the investment in improved design systems and mobile working applications.

However, as the technology revolution advances, the workforce risks being left behind. Until a very recent surge in apprenticeships, the industry has been faced with a rapidly ageing demographic, leaving an upcoming capability gap. Those who have been in the

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industry for decades are faced with the challenge of changing 30 years of working practices, while there is a pressure on apprentices to accelerate learning to fill the gap.

This results in a lack of understanding of new processes, causing employees to improvise when under pressure. Due to this, there is an ingrained culture of ‘fire-fighting’. This approach, combined with a lack of training, means that a reactive response has become the norm. Positive behaviours such as planning and deconflicting work ahead of time are practices which are not trained, rewarded or recognised onsite.

One experienced shipbuilder once told Newton consultants: ‘We are challenged to do it right first time but, because we lack the training, we end up doing it twice’. This indicates a low motivation to resolve issues within the workplace. Other professionals described the capability in certain areas as being ‘one brick thick’ with processes reliant on a ‘handful of heroes’. This problem will become a collective factor as the more experienced workers begin to retire.

With budgetary pressures on the armed forces increasing, the requirement for efficient delivery is more far-reaching than ever.

As a result, there is an ongoing need in the industry to invest in its workforce’s capability. The maritime industry and the customer realise the current working practices are detrimental and change needs to happen.

TRAINING

Ministry of Defence has a role to play in the way it places demand on the industry to preserve some essential capabilities.

2. Encourage ownership Professionals are accountable when empowered to do so. A strong skillset should be developed to give employees the tools and autonomy required to make informed decisions. Giving individuals the means to succeed lets handing over this accountability easier and allows for performance management, whilst weaknesses can be identified.

To encourage professionals, you need to celebrate proactivity.

A shift in mindset from reactive problem-solving to proactive risk mitigation will reduce repeating work, whilst improving both cost and scheduling performance. Steps should be taken to avoid disasters, while errors should be investigated to prevent reoccurrence. This ‘right first-time’ attitude motivates individuals to meet quality standards, deadlines and cost expectations. As a result, employees become accountable for their roles, breaking down silos and creating a more unified approach to the business.

3. Prioritising continuous development

So, what’s the solution?

A cultural shift is required in the maritime industry’s opinion of career development. This shift will in turn create more efficient processes, empower employees to identify potential problems before they impact on delivery.

Newton has identified three changes that need to take place within the industry, enabling leaders to get the most out of their workforce and ultimately, remain competitive.

1. Plug the capability gap Businesses should start by identifying the core skillsets and standards they expect individuals to perform at, along with any gaps within their workforce’s capability. It is also essential that business owners don’t just rely on apprentices to fill gaps, but instead attract experienced employees that can mentor new talent.

Furthermore, working with dedicated partners can allow certain gaps to be plugged across the industry.

However, there are additional risks that some skills are in danger of depletion due to the sporadic nature of demand within the industry. This can be seen with the shaft and propeller installation expertise for surface ships. Skills can be outsourced to the wider industry, but there is a core SQEP level that needs to be maintained. Partnering can mitigate some of the risk but the

There is a need to develop a viable succession plan to rectify the concerns of an aging demographic. The development of the workforce should be the high priority as it allows for opportunities to learn from experience.

Examples from the maritime industry show that the most effective training is delivered by subject matter experts from within a peer group and then followed up with practical support. The recent growth in apprenticeships has kickstarted this process, but individuals should be sharing expertise and experience across the entire workforce, not just to new entrants. The onus is also on the industry to help workers take pride in accelerating their learning and to do so as technology and ways of working evolve.

Tom Niven, head of operations for the Prince of Wales build programme has witnessed first-hand how important it is to recognise employees, making them feel part of the bigger picture: “I’ve often seen employees think that they can do it better than the processes they are asked to follow. However, they don’t understand the wider consequences. We now give people an understanding of what they contribute towards and support them to deliver in the correct way.”

Development of skills and the mindset required should be prioritised to improve the future success of the British maritime industry. A sharper workforce will drive improved performance and increase customer confidence, but this process needs to be accelerated. The technical capability exists, but action must be taken to ensure that capability is preserved and maximised.

This requirement for a cultural change towards training and development is fundamental to the future success of the UK maritime industry. l Philip Sunley is Head of Defence and Aerospace at Newton, with primary responsibility for delivering performance improvement across large complex engineering programmes in the Air, Land and Sea sectors. In recent years, he has led teams to deliver multi-million pound, doubledigit performance improvement by solving complex process, cultural and organisational challenges that impact on the delivery of UK Maritime’s largest build and refit programmes. www.newtoneurope.com www.landseaairmagazine.com - 9

Robotics and the click-to-ship

revolution

Robots have always been considered as futuristic. The reality is, they are entering the here-and-now in a significant and transformative way - and nowhere more so than in the modern warehouse. By Simon Cooper

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cross all walks of life, robots, in the form of autonomous cars, drones and voice-activated artificial intelligence, are gaining public attention.

Trials of autonomous cars have taken place in several major cities already, including London, and drones have been famously used by Amazon to deliver online orders. But robots are set to have a far wider influence on industry, logistics and retail enterprises.

Of course, articulated robots have been a common sight in automotive assembly plants for years, and to some extent, they are often seen within warehouses assembling pallet loads. But, the use of robotics for ecommerce order fulfilment is something new and is fast becoming a major focus of attention for the large retailers.

Robotics will soon become the key differentiator for retail businesses competing on cost-to-serve and speed of delivery for online orders. Many retailers are aiming for 15 minutes from click to ship – an ambitious target that can only be achieved through the use of robots. Major retailers across the globe are actively engaged in seeking solutions to these challenges.

The interest in robotics is strong. A recent report published

by Research and Markets found that worldwide sales of warehousing and logistics robots hit $1.9 billion in 2016 and predicts that the market will reach $22.4 billion by the end of 2021. In a separate study by analysts, Tractica, worldwide

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shipments made by warehousing and logistics robots are set to rise from 40,000 units in 2016 to 620,000 units annually by 2021.

This growing interest in warehouse robotics is being fuelled, in the main, by the consumer’s continued preference to shop online, with the rising expectation for next day delivery. According to figures released in March 2017 by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), shoppers spent an estimated £1bn a week online with UK retailers during February, 20.7 per cent up on the same month last year - accounting for 15.3 per cent of all retail spending.

But, how will omnichannel retailers cope with this significant and continuing shift to online sales? Where will the labour force come from to match the rising demand for single order picking?

In large ecommerce fulfilment centres many hundreds of people are already employed as pickers and packers and, in key areas, finding staff is becoming increasingly difficult, but many more will be needed if the trend to online continues as predicted.

Perennial fears over the loss of some manual warehouse tasks to robots could possibly stand in the way of a sensible solution to the problems of scale of demand and cost. A draft report to the European parliament, prepared by MEP Mady Delvaux in 2016, even raised the idea of a tax on robots. However, robots can increase the productivity of the existing labour force and would be invaluable in the boost to activity leading up to Christmas, when finding extra staff can be difficult.

Warehousing

Importantly, robotics and automation radically improve productivity and through these gains, businesses grow and develop, requiring more people to maintain systems and run the newly developed channels of growth. Thus, the overall prospect for jobs remains positive going forward, although some roles may change.

In the UK, there are some that believe finding labour for picking processes may become more difficult following the decision to leave the EU, making investment in robotic picking an even more compelling option. It seems likely that many retailers will choose to amortise the cost of automation over a longer time period, and so ensure operational efficiency and customer service, rather than be exposed to the possibility of being dependent upon a dwindling pool of labour, with the linked prospect of rising labour costs.

There is already evidence of a growing number of retail businesses with large

manual operations looking to the viability of automated DCs that incorporate robotic systems. Even organisations that presently use paper pick lists are exploring automation.

Mixed case palletising and roll-cage building is becoming increasingly important for retailers, particularly grocers, as they look to ‘store friendly sequencing’ to achieve greater efficiency with shelf replenishment at their retail outlets. Dematic have developed shuttle-based systems to deliver full cases of product in sequence to specially created robot handlers and these dedicated machines pick-and-place product in mixed case fashion to a pallet or roll-cage. In this type of operation, it is critical that the storage and retrieval system supplying the robot is fast enough to handle the cases and intelligent enough to deliver the cases in the exact sequence.

Similarly, many retailers are asking for retail totes to be built up on pallets or dollies automatically by robot in a store friendly sequence. This is relatively straight forward, removing manual

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WAREHOUSING

labour and using intelligent software to sequence and build the load in accordance to the planned layout of the retail store – building the load in reverse drop sequence. When the dolly is wheeled down the aisle in the store, items are available in order, ready to be placed on the shelves.

However, the Holy Grail in warehouse automation, and undoubtedly the most difficult challenge to date, is the use of robots for single item picking from a stock tote to an order tote.

This is cutting edge technology and Dematic is actively engaged in developing robots for picking individual items, such as a bottle of shampoo or a tee shirt, from a stock tote and placing it to an order tote. Dematic’s RapidPick XT robotic picking system is leading this field and can consistently pick up to 1200 items per hour with an uptime approaching 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The robot is fully articulated and equipped with a 2D/3D vision system.

It is the vision system and the gripper that are the two most highly complex aspects of this challenge. Dematic are trialing both gripper and vacuum technology to affect the pick and creating machines that are able to swap these ‘hand’ pieces accordingly, depending on the characteristics of the items being picked.

Another robot that has just been developed by Dematic’s research unit in Grand Rapids is the Multishuttle ARM. This is a completely automated piece picking system that combines the Multishuttle donor tote buffer storage and conveyance system, a robotic arm, vision equipment, and warehouse control and order management systems to enable picking of individual items to batch or order totes. Multishuttle ARM replaces manual goods-

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to-person processes for order fulfilment operations.

There are many more exciting developments taking place regarding AGVs and robotics.

Robotic solutions have become viable only through recent advances in artificial intelligence. They are now far more costeffective and are able to quickly identify, verify, pick-up and place single items at speed. These are complex problems that are being solved, here and now. Robots are no longer science fiction; they are fast becoming a very real part of the contemporary warehouse. l

Simon Cooper is Business Solutions Sales Director at Dematic Northern Europe. Dematic is a leading supplier of integrated automated technology, software and services to optimise the supply chain. Dematic employs over 6000 skilled logistics professionals to serve its customers globally, with engineering centres and manufacturing facilities located across the globe. Dematic has implemented more than 4500 integrated systems for a customer base that includes small, medium and large companies doing business in a variety of market sectors. Headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI, Dematic is a member of KION Group, a global leader in industrial trucks, related services, and supply chain solutions. www.dematic.com

ROADS

Paving the

way

Cubis Systems has looked at the history of Britain’s roadways as the new age of the smart motorway gets closer

T

he past is truly prologue when it comes to the British road network, with various periods of great investment in change, such as during the industrial revolution.

The infographic explores all of this, as well as how smaller inventions such as plates on vehicles and cats eye road reflectors have made a difference to our roadways. Looking at where we’re coming from is vital when considering the upgrade works that need to be carried out to take the country forward into the connected age of the smart city.

“It’s easy to get caught up in a new beginning and forget what has gone before, but this would take away from the great foundations that have already been laid,” said John Griffiths, Highway Business Development Manager for Cubis Systems. “The move to smart highways will see investment in bringing technology to our roads, so it’s important to learn from the lessons of the past. Active traffic management techniques, such as variable speed limits, and the use of the hard shoulder at peak times will mean traffic flow will be smooth with less traffic collisions and more reliable journey times – but there is plenty of infrastructure work to be done first to facilitate these upgrades.”

The seminal M42 scheme in 2006 saw a reduction in variability journey times of up to 27 per cent, and with a reduction in congestion inevitably comes a reduction in carbon emissions. The long-standing goal of reducing carbon emissions means environmentally friendly electric vehicles may be prioritised with a designated lane on the highway and energy saving street lighting could be introduced. Ultimately, the future of Britain's roads looks bright. l

Cubis Systems is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of access chamber systems, facilitating the development of highways, railways and telecoms. The company’s use of the latest materials and technologies help developmental projects across the country to run smoothly. www.cubis-systems.com/uk

www.landseaairmagazine.com - 13

WesCom Signal and Rescue

The new name for safety at sea, with more than 100 years of brand experience and heritage

W

esCom Signal and Rescue is the world’s leading marine distress signal manufacturer with the largest international network of distributors. Its comprehensive range of marine distress signals and safety systems have been trusted for more than 100 years, by the world’s navies, lifeboat and rescue services, merchant fleets and airlines, as well as by fishing vessels and leisure craft.

Previously known as Drew Marine Signal and Safety, the name was officially changed on Monday 16 October 2017, following Willhelmsen Group entering an agreement to acquire the technical solutions business of Drew Marine, subject to regulatory approval.

The name change comes with a new logo and website, however, there will be no other changes to the business.

WesCom Signal and Rescue Vice President, Global Business Development and General Manager UK, Claire Newland, says: “Once the completion of the impending sale of the Drew Marine Technical Solutions business to the Wilhelmsen Group, announced earlier this year, goes through, the Drew Marine name and Trident logo will no longer be available for use by other group companies not included within the sale. Therefore, as of 16 October 2017, Drew Marine Signal and Safety changed its name to WesCom Signal and Rescue.”

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As a global brand, WesCom Signal and Rescue produces around 1.5 million Red Handflares every year. Every liferaft and lifeboat requires six red handflares and the company estimates that there are around 450,000 liferafts in service requiring commercial SOLAS pyrotechnics in around 110,000 vessels. All its products are made to order, as they have a manufacturing and expiry date marked on them. Therefore, holding stock is not an option, as they would have a reduced service life even before being shipped.

The brand serves customers all around the world, ensuring marine pyrotechnics are available in the major ports. This requires a robust administration and shipping process, and the most stringent safety and transportation systems. It also requires a global network of trusted, experienced distributors who have in-depth knowledge of their market and customer needs to keep up production levels at all times of the year and ensure that Pains Wessex and Comet ticks the boxes – from shore to ship and back again. The quality, technological superiority and innovative design of its products – combined with worldwide Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS) requirements, including Marine Equipment Directive (MED) and USCG, and manufacturing to ISO 9001 standard – has placed Pains Wessex and Comet at the forefront of marine safety.

The transportation of Pains Wessex and Comet products by road, air and sea, is strictly regulated. In Europe, it is operated

WESCOM

under ADR, the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), a 1957 United Nations treaty that governs transnational transport of hazardous materials. ADR is derived from the French name for the treaty: Accord européen relatif au transport international des marchandises Dangereuses par Route. Accordingly, Pains Wessex and Comet products in mainland Europe are delivered by special ADR lorry once a month.

WesCom Signal and Rescue’s reputation has been built on a corporate culture infused with excellence and a mindset of safety above all else, recognising that its products are critical lifesaving appliances that may one day be relied upon. We cannot deny that there are ongoing advances in technology, however, it’s important not to lose sight of the fact the business operates to save lives.

Therefore, the brand’s distributors are chosen on the basis that they are trustworthy, have integrity and put safety first and do not cut corners.

Building on this and working towards a better and safer environment, WesCom Signal and Rescue supports Sailors' Society.

The charity’s work around the world is really inspiring, as it takes a holistic approach and addresses all aspects of welfare in the seafaring community. The partnership leverages the power of Drew Marine as a key voice in the maritime safety industry to achieve

greater support for a charity that is making a real difference to the people working at the sharp end of shipping. WesCom is proud to stand up for seafarers' welfare.

To ensure the best possible service, WesCom Signal and Rescue is currently conducting independent research with procurement experts in the shipping industry. With such a powerful reputation for high quality products through Pains Wessex and Comet, insight from this research is showing how the supply chain works in a range of ways to ensure effective delivery of pyrotechnics to ships globally. Every response to the survey returns a donation to the Sailors’ Society, a charity that supports seafarers on our seas and in our ports worldwide. v

If you are interested in sharing your experience around ship safety procurement, please login to this online survey: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VesselExperts. www.wescomsignal.com

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Transport fit for

tomorrow T ransport and logistics are a crucial part of many businesses.

Whether you are looking to deliver goods across the country or you need parts and tools, it is vital these items arrive safely and on time and this is why choosing the right company to transport these goods and items is crucial.

One company has recently come to the fore to provide this essential service for its clients. When K&R Transporte GmbH was first established in 2004 it was selling trucks and construction machinery. In 2007 the company set the first vehicle on the road and had five vehicles and eight employees. Today the company has increased to 100 vehicles and over 180 employees as well as a turnover of 20 million euros (15 million euros is generated by K&R alone). As well as providing national and international transportation it is also able to provide smaller cargo deliveries to local areas through R&B Spedition

GmbH, an additional company that works alongside K&R. While K&R specialises in larger deliveries, R&B Spedition GmbH utilises its fleet for smaller local deliveries.

Furthermore both companies are supported by 20 subcontractors allowing them to offer services such as delivering to local areas, long distance delivery, transportation of dangerous goods and transfers.

As K&R celebrates being awarded ‘Growth champions of the year’ by the news magazine Focus (compiled from sales growth data by research company Statisia) it is worth taking a closer look to see how the organisation has gone from strength to strength as well as its plans for further growth in the future.

Flexibility One of the reasons that K&R has been able to meet the demands of a varied range of clients is an ability to adapt - in its own words

‘there is no one single type of customer’. For example, R&B has a fleet of 25 vehicles that includes 7.5, 12 and 18 tonne trucks with both trailers and semi-trailers, allowing for a variety of options for clients when deciding how they want to transport items. As well as keeping items secure, it is also crucial that any driver has the tools to allow them to do their job as effectively as possible. With this in mind, K&R has ensured its fleets are equipped with phones, GPS, equipment for handling dangerous goods and load securing.

Of course, it is not just about having the right tools for the job at the current moment in time - in order to keep up with demand the company inspects and rigorously checks vehicles to make sure that any vehicles are safe to go out and can handle any cargo securely (for example all trailers need to be XL certified). In order to maintain this K&R is committed to replace older vehicles and replace them with newer vehicles in the fleet. In 2015, the company moved to its new location that includes its own workshop, allowing K&R to further build on its relationship with its clients and adapt to their needs.

Reliability While having the right technology and up to date vehicles is extremely important, the people, who are handling these vehicles are another aspect that is a core part of the development of the business. Another company motto is, ‘on time, competent and

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Profile: K&R Transporte GmbH & R&B Spedition GmbH

for new ways to develop and further expand the business. Outside of nurturing potential future talent it is also looking toward a larger client base. At present it can boast that 30-40 per cent of its business comes from the international market. However it is looking to build on this, attracting more customers from the wider European market.

With this flexible approach, it is likely that K&R will be able to further deliver on that promise and it will be exciting to see how much further it can grow in the future and continue to build on its award winning reputation. l

K&R Transporte GmbH & R&B Spedition GmbH young speedway talent Daniel Schroeder, giving the chance for an exciting young talent to blossom in their chosen field and revel in their passion. Furthermore it is a sponsor of a local soccer team FV Langenwinkel.

The future reliable,’ and this is achieved not only via the quality of the fleet but also through how K&R trains its employees and guides them behind the scenes through the dispatch team.

These are important considerations for any potential client - for example a late delivery can have a knock-on effect for anyone that has to supply another business or if a customer is waiting to receive goods.

Furthermore, if a driver doesn’t handle goods properly and these are damaged this can cause further problems as replacements need to be brought in. This means that a lot of people can suffer damage to their reputation if they have to deal with any delays.

This is why K&R works hard to develop its employees, making sure they have the skills, experience and aptitude for the job. K&R has invested in developing its employee’s training as it believes that; ‘Motivated and committed employees are the backbone of any company. It is important to us that our drivers offer a competent, safe and friendly service.’

Another way that K&R also supports its team is by investing in a new SAP programme. This allows for better resource planning and data management, being able to track resources and manage data in a more effective way that will in turn allow for better direction for the dispatch team and continue to improve the quality of service.

The company’s investment doesn’t stop with its own future – it has chosen to sponsor

While it is proud of its 2017 Growth award, K&R is not standing still – it is always looking

http://www.kr-transporte.de/ unternehmen/ • K&R Transporte GmbH specialises in national and international transportation • The organisation has a turnover of 20 million euros • Awarded ‘Growth champions of the year 2017’ by news magazine Focus and Financial Times

www.landseaairmagazine.com - 17

Delivering the

L

istening, responding and delivering to exceptional standards. These are the traits that have allowed Fowler Welch to become a supply chain supplier of choice for major retailers and manufacturers across the UK. Established in 1994, the company today boasts nine strategically located depots, covering a combined space of approximately one million square feet, each possessing its own dedicated team that help to provide a flexible, cost-effective and reliable service for ambient and temperature controlled

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goods

products. With 450 Euro 6 modern vehicles at its disposal, the company is able to cover some 57 million miles of road each year.

“Historically, Fowler Welch was very much a consolidator of fresh produce, distributing to retail and wholesale markets,” begins Fowler Welch’s Chief Executive Officer, Nick Hay. “In more recent times, and by building upon our heritage, we have developed a much broader range of products and services. Developing expertise in areas that utilise the same kind of chilled infrastructure that we became an expert in operating, we have gradually

increased the amount of warehousing activity we provide on behalf of food manufacturers.”

Key developments in the last decade or so include the introduction of an ambient business, based in Manchester, in 2006, and the establishing of a joint venture alongside Direct Produce Supplies (DPS) in 2014, which has resulted in the company providing a linked fruit packing service from its distribution sites. Even more recently, in 2016 to be exact, Fowler Welch developed a sophisticated partnership with Dairy Crest, which sees the company operating

Profile: Fowler Welch

all of Dairy Crest’s transport out of its Nuneaton facility.

“Looking back, 20 years ago Fowler Welch could very much have been defined as delivering a fresh produce consolidation service. While this is still very much a core facet of the business, in 2017 we see ourselves much more as being food supply chain experts,” Nick adds. “We now specialise in more than just packing and are far more sophisticated in terms of trying to provide our customers with added value, whether this be by providing bespoke fleet solutions or by introducing new ways of working with people. An example of the latter can be found in our relationship with food re-distribution charity group FareShare. Our partnership with FareShare began in August 2016, and in the first 12 months we have helped to donate enough food to provide one million meals for charities supporting vulnerable people. This is a hugely rewarding example of what can happen when a company like ours shifts from being just a distribution consolidation business into a true supply

chain expert, providing different solutions for different challenges.”

A team of ‘great people’, a ‘can do’ culture and a proven track record for being a reactive business are just a few of company’s strengths that Nick points to as being the reason for Fowler Welch’s competitive edge in its field. “Our hard work over the years has allowed us to accumulate a strong, healthy balance sheet, which gives us the ability to invest for the long term,” he says. “One thing we do not do is take short term decisions and this has paid off for us massively to date.”

In addition to its obvious dedication to providing an unmatched quality of service to its customers, Fowler Welch has also placed innovation and delivering greater energy efficiency at the core of its activities.

By focusing on the miles per gallon (MPG) performance of its vehicles, the company has been able to increase its MPG by 12.5 per cent, which has contributed to a reduced carbon output of 14 per cent in the last five years, which is a great achievement.

Bandvulc

Bandvulc’s BV Plus+ provides fleet management and 24/7, 365 days per year tyre support to a fleet of over 300 tractor units and 700 trailers for Fowler Welch, with a policy of Bandvulc retreads and Continental new tyres respectively.

Bandvulc mirrors the ethos of Fowler Welch by providing excellent customer service at every touchpoint. By being proactive in developments and enhancements, Bandvulc enables Fowler Welch to explore new and innovative opportunities within tyre-related operations.

This, in conjunction with Bandvulc’s in-house call handling and off-site disaster recovery unit, gives Fowler Welch added peace of mind that its fleet will always be in good hands.

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Profile: Fowler Welch

In a further development, it was recently revealed that Fowler Welch would be undertaking a major environmental road test of a selection of tractor units, following the previous addition of 76 trailers and 72 units to its multi-temperature fleet as part of its ongoing investment in sustainability practices.

This investment will see 11 Scania units and 37 MAN units delivering to and collecting from all the major food retailers each week. Alongside these units will be another six vehicles from each major marque, Volvo, DAF and Mercedes that will be put through a rigorous comparison process. A head-to-head will take place as each manufacturer is marked on MPG, both tank-to-tank and telematics, whole life cost, and uptime, as well as driver acceptance and after sales support.

The initial results of this assessment will contribute to decisions made during the company’s vehicle replacement programme in 2018. Commenting at the time of the announcement, Nick said: “Across the

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business we have a real focus on driving down carbon emissions by a combination of adopting innovative technology and investing in better, more carbon-efficient equipment. This benchmarking exercise is the latest move in our holistic approach to our environmental impact which is saving over 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.”

The company also makes a concerted effort to improve the actual utilisation of its fleet. “A good example of this can be seen in our work with Tulip, one of the UK’s leading food producing companies,” Nick describes. “Tulip’s products are transported on very specific pallets, which initially we found we could not double stack within our standard trailers. In response to this we choose to introduce a bespoke ‘jumbo’ trailer, which is slightly taller and has a system of bars that drop down from the ceiling, creating a ‘double deck’ effect.

We have since introduced a number of these trailers, which has helped reduce the mileage on those specific loops by 80,000

miles a year, which again has a significant, positive impact on carbon emissions.”

Environmental awareness also extends into Fowler Welch’s manufacturing operations, where it has contracted Linde Material Handling to supply a national fleet of more than 180 lithium-ion fork lift trucks and associated warehouse equipment.

“Within the next 12 months, 100 per cent of our warehouse fleet will run on lithium-ion batteries,” Nick comments.

“The benefit of this will be two-fold. In the first instance, it is yet another example of our determination to reduce energy consumption. Secondly, we find that one of the biggest causes of workplace accidents and personal injury in this line of work is the changing of batteries on fork lift and pallet trucks. With these new trucks the battery does not need to be changed at all, rather you simply plug the truck into a plug socket to charge the battery. So this will have a massive impact on the welfare of our people as well.”

Looking towards the immediate future, while rightly remaining very positive regarding his own company’s fortunes, Nick is still aware that the next 12 months has the potential to bring with it a number of complex challenges that Fowler Welch will have to overcome. “We are looking at something of a perfect storm brewing on the horizon, what with rising inflation, increases in the living wage, changing legislation as it relates to pensions and, of course, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit,” he says, before spelling out how the company can overcome these issues. “Talking to, and working with, our customers, listening to their issues, collaborating to find resolutions to these and resolving them in a timely, costeffective manner is going to be key to weathering the aforementioned storm.

Our mantra of listening, responding and delivering is as true as it has ever been. We need to take on board what our customers are doing, be willing to be innovative in finding a response to their concerns and then delivering that in a successful manner, much as we have done in the past.” l

Fowler Welch www.fowlerwelch.co.uk • Nine depots across the UK • 450 Euro 6 modern vehicles • 57 million miles covered per year

Profile: KB Transport Solutions

Driving

K

force

B Transport Solutions (KBTS) is a thriving logistics and warehousing business, based in Coventry. After being established in 2010 during the height of a recession, it had a slow progression into the transport and warehouse storage industry, due to limited funds. Despite this, the company continued to pursue its ambitions and develop longstanding contracts and relationships with its customers, which thanks to KBTS’ high standards of service, are still working with the organisation today. “Originally it was just myself and my business partner, Managing Director Kevin Bennett, who started and operated the business; however, we have now developed our staff and can boast a team consisting of over 30 employees. As a family-run business, we promote a close-knit environment with family and friends being on both the board of directors and operating as members of staff,” states Alan Mohomed, Finance Director and Partner at KB Transport Solutions Ltd. “At the start, we solely provided warehouse services, after being given the opportunity to operate from a small area of a site at Edgewick Park, Coventry,” he added. “We eventually outgrew this area, and continued to take over full occupancy of this site, becoming a limited company in September 2011. Following this, our next project

was developing into transport and distribution services.”

This next evolution required a move to a new site on Henley Road, Coventry, situated just off Junction 3 on the M6, making it a key location in the UK, with essential access to main transport links.

“This site, which we have now occupied for over five years, enabled us to progress within the transport industry,” agreed Alan.

“We were then given the opportunity to expand again, and we took on a facility on Sandy Lane in Coventry, which we have fully racked out to give a complete service to our warehouse customers. The relocation to Sandy Lane has enabled us to move all our warehouse operations to one central site, as opposed to being fragmented at both locations.”

Thanks to the developments and expansions that KBTS has undertaken, the business now operates from both Henley Road and Sandy Lane. The 17,000-square feet Henley Road site mainly offers home delivery operations and distribution services across the country; whilst the facilities at Sandy Lane are purely for warehouse purposes.

This site operates as an organised, stylish facility, with LED lighting throughout making it more energy efficient, and a track and trace system, which is fully optimised, so customers can track their consignments through their own personal log-in. “This enables us to

provide a complete service to our warehouse customers,” explains Alan. “To support our team and serve our customers more efficiently, in the third quarter of 2017, we also replaced all our forklift trucks; this consists of two reach trucks, two gas trucks, two crown trucks, and two electric trucks and we have a couple of man riders as well.”

In fact, KBTS’ expansion has been so successful that the company has now taken over almost the entire Sandy Lane Estate in Coventry, occupying 130,000-square feet of the 136,000-square feet site, owned by the commercial property company Wigley Group.

KBTS and Wigley have not only developed a close working relationship, but also both get involved in local community work, with Wigley organising charity events, both companies working with Zoë’s Place, a charity for sick children, and KBTS about to sponsor a local up and coming football club for children. “This

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Profile: KB Transport Solutions

raises our own name as a local firm but also it’s our way of giving back,” added Alan.

These kinds of activities are supported by the KBTS team, and Alan was keen to give credit to the staff, as

‘they support the business moving forwards, and enable us to manage large, complex contracts.’ To help progress further in the future, Alan and Kevin have created a young, passionate and knowledgeable group to help the company achieve its growth plans over the coming years. “Myself and Kevin are planning on standing back a little on certain aspects of the business as we now trust our young team to operate the day to day running of KBTS,” stated Alan. “This includes Charlotte Steele, who within 18 months of being with the organisation is already a great driving force for our business, and Kevin Junior who successfully runs the haulage and subcontracting area of the business for the heavier contracts.

“The team is very proactive and we are always keen to hear their opinions on how we can evolve further. We also prioritise training and offer development opportunities – for example at the moment we are doing new health and safety courses with the staff, and Charlotte Steele has just completed her degree in HR, and I would like her to take on more responsibility, overseeing the budgeting and forecasting of the business. We are always offering ways for staff to further their education, especially if it is something where we can see a business benefit for us too. By making sure everyone is happy in their jobs we add to the overall stability of the company, as well as help maintain our overall reputation for offering the right services at the right price.”

It is clear from speaking to Alan that continuous improvement is a priority for KBTS and the business is always looking for new avenues for expansion and improvement. “We have already filled much of our Sandy Lane warehouse, and are therefore considering another move to a larger site at the beginning of 2018, to enable us to further progress,” he concluded. “We want to ensure our customers have room to grow, and give ourselves some breathing space too. We’re looking at all the options but we always want to make progress and improve the business, in whatever way that may be!” l

KB Transport Solutions www.kbtsltd.co.uk • Pallet distribution transport and warehouse storage specialist • Wide breadth of knowledge across a diverse range of industries • Builds long-term relationships with all clients based on trust and service

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Profile: solent stevedores

Multi-skilled

support C

ommencing operations in the Port of Southampton in February 2000, Solent Stevedores has since developed an excellent reputation as a competent, efficient and professional cargo handling operator. The company originally entered into a 20year agreement with Associated British Ports (ABP), owners of the Port of Southampton, to expand the bulk terminal and improve facilities through a joint investment of ÂŁ7 million. However, this initial agreement has now been extended until 2030 to take account of subsequent investments including infrastructure improvements.

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Kalmar - Land sea air advert A4 V1.qxp_Layout 1 27/10/2017 14:33 Page 1

Making your every move count.

Proud supplier to Solent Stevedores

Kalmar is the industry leader in terminal automation and energy-efficient handling equipment and understands the needs of this dynamic market better than most.

We improve the efficiency of your every move through our extensive range of powerful and precise cargo handling equipment, which includes reachstackers, empty container handlers, distribution tractors and forklift trucks, all packed with smart features to boost productivity, and efficiency.

Backed by comprehensive national servicing coverage, it is easy to see why the world’s most prestigious companies choose Kalmar – and why one in four container movements around the globe are handled by a Kalmar machine.

Call us now on 01952 752512 or email kalmar@adfield.co.uk www.kalmarglobal.co.uk

Profile: solent stevedores

Kalmar

Since 2013, Kalmar has supplied Solent Stevedores with a range of cargo handling solutions, including Terminal Tractors, Reachstackers and Distribution Tractors, for its sites at Port of Jersey and Port of Southampton.

In 2017, following its expansion to London Gateway, Solent Stevedores ordered two new Kalmar DCG8045ES6 Empty Container Handlers, as well as eight new T2 Terminal Tractors for Southampton.

“Kalmar is a complete solution provider,” says Howard Matthews, Kalmar’s Regional Sales Manager, responsible for the relationship with Solent Stevedores. “We can provide a full equipment range including Terminal Tractors, Forklift Trucks, Empty Container Handlers and Reachstackers. We also provide fleet management information with our SmartFleet programme, fully supported by our national parts and service operation.”

Tom Dynes, Solent Stevedores’ General Manager - Southampton, says: “Kalmar’s SmartFleet telematics tool enables us to effectively monitor the performance of our fleet 24/7. By constantly reviewing operational performance with our staff, we are able to improve driver behaviour and drive through efficiency improvements.”

Tel: 01952 752512 www.kalmarglobal.co.uk

Since then, Solent Stevedores and Associated British Ports have developed a significant increase in trade. This relationship enables Solent Stevedores to operate with no restrictions when it comes to customer demands. Services at Southampton Port include dry bulk handling and storage, for which Solent Stevedores provides receipt, storage and load out services for a range of dry bulk commodities at berths 107, 108, 109 and the King George V dock. Over 1.2M Tonnes of cargo were handled in 2016 with Scrap and Gypsum being the largest commodities handled in tonnage terms.

Imported cargoes such as Animal Feed Stuffs and Fertiliser awaiting UK distribution by road or rail are stored in 2 x 4000 Square Metre TASCC approved quayside Bulk Stores at 107 berth and at Mulberry Terminal.

Other services include project cargo handling for non-bulk customers, for which the company is well placed to meet the lift-on, lift-off requirements of all types of project and general cargo utilising the seven Harbour Mobile cranes at its disposal.

Elsewhere, the company offers Stevedoring services at the Port of St Helier, Jersey, to facilitate RO/RO services on the

two ramps at the Elizabeth Terminal and LO/LO services on the New North Quay and this is where some Bulk products are also handled. More recently the company has extended its services into assisting the Ports of Jersey with Security and Maintenance services Meanwhile, in Silvertown, London, the company provides all machines and staff required for the safe unloading of all ASR Group/Tate & Lyle ships that are carrying raw cane sugar to its refinery in London, and the activity also includes the loading of Bagged vessels. Here Solent Stevedores works a 24 hour operation and also provides staff and machinery to the raw sugar storage shed, which then feeds the refinery with the raw sugar for processing.

The company also provides stevedoring services and terminal management operations for dry bulk cargoes from the Port of Immingham. In 2016, Solent Stevedores boosted its presence at the port with the completion of a six-month engineering project to convert an existing quayside bulk store into a dust-free PFA terminal. This conversion, undertaken by Silo Services Ltd, included the complete

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Konecranes@Konecranes

Live from Southampton – Fruitful cargo handling! #FastHandling #PalletizedGoods #UninteruptedCoolChain

FRUITFUL CARGO HANDLING Fast and smooth discharge of fresh produce such as fruit, demonstrated by these Konecranes Gottwald Model 2 Mobile Harbor Cranes, operated

by Solent Stevedores at ABP Southampton’s Port, is vital for keeping the cargo cool. As the cherry on top, these eco-efficient diesel-electric cranes are multi-purpose, handling not only a wide variety of chilled fruit produce, but project cargoes such as turbine components, yachts and more.

Find out more about mobile harbor cranes at konecranes.com

KC-Fruitful Cargo Handling-210x297-EN RZ.indd 1

02.11.17 09:01

Profile: solent stevedores

Konescranes

Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports and terminals. Konecranes provides productivity enhancing lifting solutions, as well as services for lifting equipment of all makes. In 2016, Group (comparable combined company) sales totaled 3,278 million euros. The Group has 16,800 employees at 600 locations in 50 countries.

Konecranes class A shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki (symbol: KCR).

sealing of the warehouse, the installation of dust extraction filters which minimise dust emissions and the fitting of pipework to convey products from ships and the addition of automated intake and loading systems. This reduces the number of Bulk lorry movements within the operation and port estate. This development follows Solent Stevedores’ long-term commitment to ABP and the owners of the Port of Immingham and will enable the company to further develop its workforce whilst also providing tailored solutions to its customers.

In line with its commitment to meet the needs of customers, the company has also further developed its operations in Southampton to incorporate multiple extensions to the bulks terminal; this is rail linked and has a minimum depth of 11.7 metres of water available alongside it at all times to accommodate vessels of up to 50,000 dead weight tonnes. The expansion of Solent Stevedores’ operations includes progression into new areas such the operation of a new Rail Terminal facility and a temperature-controlled Fruit Terminal.

“Since we were previously featured in Land, Sea & Air magazine in 2012 we have

extended our service capabilities and now operate the Fruit Terminal, a 10,000 square metre state-of-the-art facility, designed for handling fresh produce,” confirms Ian Jacobs, Chief Operating Officer at Solent Stevedores.

“We have invested in excess of £8 million to transform this facility, with 2017 seeing the development of a dedicated pack house where produce can be packaged ready for direct supply to the supermarket chains to a British Retail Consortium standard. We also have two new harbour mobile cranes, which allow us to handle containers and palletised cargo, so we have really broadened our resource in terms of accepting differing loads of cargo into the Terminal.

Additionally, we have new chilling systems, which enable us to vary the temperatures through a greater range, giving us specific opportunities with a more diverse range of fruit and vegetables that need maintaining at certain temperatures. Our service offering from this facility is class leading,” he adds.

Operational since February 2017, the pack house facility within the fruit terminal supports a team of more than 40 specialist fruit packing operatives who are all working

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Profile: solent stevedores

‘‘

Solent Stevedores has also extended its reach into the cruise market sector in Southampton, with the company anticipated to handle 86 per cent of the cruise traffic that comes into the port in 2018

to support existing customers and help them further develop their business in the UK while also attracting new customers. In addition to these investments, the company also invested in upgrading its main storage areas, which now feature energy-efficient lights, rapid-action doors and multiple storage compartments.

This commitment to customers resulted in Solent Stevedores being awarded the Customer Care Award at the IBJ Awards Ceremony in November 2016, with the company recognised for its ability to place customer services at the forefront of its activities thanks to a culture that is spread throughout all parts of the business, from the top down.

In other areas of Southampton Port, the company is pushing forward with a three-year contract with DB Cargo UK to operate and upgrade the container handling services at its rail terminal. “There is a big drive from successive governments to take as much traffic off the road as possible,” says Ian. “By operating this rail terminal, we have invested approximately £4.5 million in terms of upgrading the facility and investing in new plant and equipment. The result is that standard turnaround times for our

customers have more than halved, and we can undertake a turnaround in under 90 minutes. This substantial increase in terminal efficiency This clearly helps build the case of moving more cargo by rail.”

In connection to the development of the rail terminal, Ian continued: “Through operating the Rail Terminal in Southampton, we have developed a close working relationship with DP World, who have helped us transfer containers to and from their terminal as efficiently as possible.

So, working directly with DP World at their London Gateway facility was a natural progression for us. We are delighted with the support DP World is continuing to provide via a contract to operate and manage a five-acre, off-dock empty container storage yard at London Gateway.

This development will provide more choice at both Ports for Solent Stevedores’ customers that are seeking solutions for the storage of empty containers. The new facility will go live in the final quarter of 2017 and further extends our UK geographical reach.”

Not a company to rest on its laurels, Solent Stevedores has also extended its reach into the cruise market sector in

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Profile: solent stevedores

South Coast Ports Services

SCPS provides a wide range of services, including contract stevedoring, mooring, marine surveys and shipwrights. The Port Skills division specialises in cruise terminal and Ro-Ro operations.

SCPS delivers flexible and cost efficient solutions to all aspects of port operations in order to meet customer requirements.

SCPS provides a high level of service, underpinned by strict H&S application and training.

The standards applied reflect our commitment to our employees, clients and their customers.

We are proud to be associated with Solent Stevedores.

Southampton, with the company anticipated to handle 86 per cent of the cruise traffic that comes into the port in 2018. The UK leader in the provision of baggage handling, stores handling and other support services to cruise ships visiting the Port of Southampton, the company provides a diverse range of supporting services to the likes of P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines and Cunard Line.

In 2017 alone, the company will provide baggage handling, portering, provisioning and mooring services to 420 cruise ship calls at the port. This amounts to 1.6 million cruise passengers and 2.4 million suitcases handled by Solent Stevedores.

To ensure these changes are delivering the best service to customers over the

coming years, Solent Stevedores will be undertaking a period of training with the goal of developing a multi-skilled workforce. In other areas of the business, the company will continue to find opportunities to grow the business in other Ports and terminals, while also finding ways to increase engagement in the supply chain of its customers. l

Solent Stevedores http://solentstevedores.co.uk • Award-winning stevedoring company • Provides a broad range of bulk and general cargo handling services • The UK leader in the provision of

baggage handling and cruise vessel support

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Profile: Gwadar Port Authority

The Gwadar

gateway A

Star Shipping

Star Shipping Pakistan provides shipping, logistics, freight forwarding, custom clearance and ship agent services all over Pakistan, operating within the country’s NVOCC, trading, project cargo and energy sectors.

s China has developed on the world stage it has looked to further develop with a project known as the Belt and Road initiative, a process of opening trade going from Venice to Beijing. Crucial to this development is a port in Pakistan and the Gwadar Port is poised to take full advantage of this massively beneficial position.

Gwadar Port is one of three ports in Pakistan alongside Karachi and Qasim. While Karachi and Qasim have had some success in the local area there are some factors hampering further growth in both cases.

The port of Karachi is based in the city and therefore it can only grow out as far as the city limits allow while Qasim is unfortunate as it is located 40 kilometres from open sea and this means that any visiting ships would have longer turnaround times.

In an interview, Dostain Khan Jamaldini, Chairman Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), while making a comparison explained, “by contrast, Gwadar Port is ideally situated around key shipping routes around the Persian Gulf.

The port also has a number of factors in its favour such as natural deep-water with about 50 kilometres sea-front for further port development open in all-weathers. It’s present navigational channel is only 4.7 kilometres

long and close to open sea. Being developed as a green-field port, it has a vast land-bank spread over 7000 hectares. Currently, it has two container berths with five STS cranes with required RTG cranes, one clean bulk-cargo berth with three cranes, and one Roll-Off Roll-On facility. The current port area also includes a 220,000 square metre container and other cargo stack area and 950 hectares of land set aside for the Gwadar Port Free Zone. The development has already caused excitement in the local area with recent estimates suggesting the port’s expansion could increase real estate GDP around the port from two to five per cent.”

He stated that the second phase of port development, scheduled to start in 2018 would add five additional berths in a new 1500 meters long Multipurpose Terminal with around 700,000 meters back-up area. He also informed that the GPA intends to develop, on the basis of BOT model, three additional Special Economic Zones for petrochemical, chemical, and mineral industries along with related port terminals on the respective seafront areas.

Above plans of port, commercial and industrial development have created opportunities for realisation of GPA vision and mission of transforming Gwadar Port

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Profile: Gwadar Port Authority

Dostain Khan Jamaldini, Chairman Gwadar Port Authority

as a future hub of transhipment and as the gateway of transit trade to Afghanistan, Central Asian Republics, and Western Provinces of China.

The potential of Gwadar was first noted as far back as 1954 when the area was still occupied by Oman. At the time Pakistan commissioned the United States Geological Survey to survey the coastline and as a result of that survey Pakistan purchased Gwadar from Oman for $3 million in 1958. Later, as Mr Jamaldini stated that in 1964 the first prefeasibility study was carried out. The process of developing the port took time, with a small wharf finalised in 1992 called Gwadar Fish Harbour-cum-Mini Port.

The construction of the port only started in March 2002 when the Chinese VicePremier laid the foundation stone for the Gwadar Port. Work on phase-one was completed in 2006 and the first PostPanamax ship that called on the port was in 2008. In 2011 the Wall Street Journal noted that the port was ‘underused’, highlighting the potential that Gwadar had to offer.

Mr Jamaldini said: “The Gwadar potential would not remain untapped. Over the years China invested $278 million in developing the port during the period 2002-2006. Now, with the coming of China Overseas Ports Holding

(COPHC) as the new port and free zone developer and operator, and with the start of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), massive investments, both from public and private sectors, running in billions of dollars, Gwadar Port & Gwadar Port City are set in the process of transformation as one of the major projects of Belt & Road Initiatives.”

The main motivation for this is that securing the route through the port will make it easier to access trade routes and for China this will mean cheaper and faster shipping, something that could prove crucial in maintaining its trading power around the world. This is outlined in a plan known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) plan and over the years Chinese investment has resulted in developments in the local area such as the Gwadar Port Free Zone, a project that started construction in June 2016 and is being built on a 2292 acre site close to the port.

He stated that the free zone of the port will cover various aspects of trade and business such as areas specifically set up to attract manufacturing businesses, an area for warehouses and a special hub to handle logistics. In order to ensure these facilities are used companies are being offered 23 year tax breaks to stay in the Zone

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UAN: +92 21 111 000 056 Cell: +92 301 7770056 email: info@gwadarportcity.com web: www.gwadarportcity.com

I

www.snsestate.com

S&S Estate aim to meet our valued client’s requirements at the same time ensuring high integrity, professionalism, quality, commitment and stability for our customers and an enduring association for our partners. We ensure that we exceed customer’s expectations in all areas of business that we are involved in and guarantee deliverables on time.

Our intention and plan is to attract local and foreign investors and buyers for land acquisitions and project development.

S&S Estate provides comprehensive and objective assessment of real estate opportunities in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and especially in Gwadar.

Gwadar is a gateway for the global market, attracting new business and foreign investments in general trade, services, manufacturing, logistics and trans-shipment.

GWADAR: The epicentre of CPEC

By M. Amir Samsaam, CEO of S&S Real Estate

G

wadar deep sea port will be the third biggest deep sea port in the world, catering to the needs of ultra-modern post-panamax ships. Gwadar is located along the busiest sea lane which links the Persian Gulf with the rest of the world. By virtue of its absolute and relative location, Gwadar deep sea port will become the hub of maritime transportation.

OBOR is the modern version of the silk route. The OBOR (ONE BELT ONE ROAD) Initiative would link two thirds of the world population and two thirds of the known energy resources.

CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) is a part and parcel of the OBOR initiative. CPEC i.e. road, rail and pipeline link between Gwadar and China will transform the geo-economics of economical depressed western/central China. It will help western China to circumvent the long land and sea route, reducing transportation time from 45 days to ten days and save up to $200 billion in transportation and logistics costs.

CPEC is intended to rapidly modernise Pakistani infrastructure and strengthen its economy through the construction of modern transportation networks, numerous energy projects and special economic zones.

Modern transportation networks built under CPEC will link seaports in Gwadar and Karachi with northern Pakistan, as well as points further north in western China and Central Asia. A 1100 kilometer long motorway will be built between the cities of Karachi and Lahore as part of CPEC, while the Karakoram Highway between Rawalpindi and the Chinese border will be completely reconstructed and overhauled. The Karachi–Peshawar main railway line will also be upgraded to allow for train travel at up to 160 km/h by December 2019. Pakistan’s railway network will also be extended to eventually connect to China’s Southern Xinjiang Railway in Kashgar. Plans for a corridor stretching from the Chinese border to Pakistan’s deep water ports on the Arabian Sea date back to the 1950s, with motivated construction of the Karakoram Highway beginning in 1959.

CPEC will be a strategic game changer in the region, which will go a long way in making Pakistan a richer and stronger entity than ever before. Gwadar forms the crux of the CPEC project, as it is envisaged to be the link between China’s ambitious One Belt, One Road project, and its Maritime Silk Road project. The special economic zone of Gwadar will facilitate the manufacturing and service sectors. This site will include manufacturing zones, logistics hubs, warehouses and display centres.

Businesses located in the zone would be exempt from customs authorities as well as many provincial and federal taxes. The special economic zone will be completed in three phases by 2025.

Three corridors have been identified for cargo transport: the Eastern Alignment through the heavily populated provinces of Sindh and Punjab where most industries are located, the Western Alignment through the less developed and more sparsely populated provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, and the future Central Alignment, which will pass through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan. These corridors will facilitate trade between Pakistan, Central Asia and China.

Pakistan’s current energy generating capacity is 17000 MW, though the country currently faces energy shortfalls of over 4500MW on a regular basis. Energy generation will be a major focus of the CPEC project, with approximately $33 billion expected to be invested in this sector. Liquefied natural gas power LNG projects are also considered vital to CPEC. The Chinese government has announced its intention to build a $2.5 billion.

711 kilometres gas pipeline from Gwadar to Nawabshah province as part of CPEC. The pipeline is designed to be a part of the 2775 kilometres long Iran–Pakistan gas pipeline. The Pakistani portion of the pipeline is to be constructed by China. It will be 42 inches in diameter, and have the capacity to transport one billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas every day, with an additional 500 million cubic feet of additional capacity when the planned offshore LNG terminal is also completed. The project will not only provide gas exporters with access to the Pakistani market, but will also allow China to secure a route for its own imports, consequently creating an energy corridor for China.

The Straits of Malacca provide China with its shortest maritime access to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Approximately 80 per cent of its Middle Eastern energy imports also pass through the Straits of Malacca.

As the world’s biggest oil importer, energy security is a key concern for China. In addition to vulnerabilities faced in the Straits of Malacca region, China is heavily dependent upon sea-routes that pass through the South China Sea, near the disputed Spratly Islands and Paracel Islands which are currently a source of tension between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines and the United States. The CPEC project will allow Chinese energy imports to circumvent these contentious areas and find a new artery in the west.

A blockade of the Strait of Malacca by the United States and its allies would cut China off from Middle East oil supplies and from its “Second Continent” Africa. That’s why China is shoring up Sri Lanka’s major ports and working feverishly with Pakistan to build an alternative route to the Middle East and Africa: the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The above mentioned economic factors have been transforming the real estate land scape of Gwadar. Real estate is the lucrative business with the highest return on investment (ROI) in the region. The evolving real estate landscape will facilitate the development of residential, commercial, manufacturing, warehousing/logistics and tourism related investment in Gwadar.

Profile: Gwadar Port Authority

as well as for any imports of items used in the construction of the port and the free zone. He informed that companies are registered in the Free Zone and issued business licences for logistic, trade, services and processing & light manufacturing.

Currently, the pilot phase is under construction on 60 acres of land, which is scheduled to complete by end of 2017.

Work on the main Free Zone will start from 2018. He informed that the 1st Gwadar International Exhibition is planned in January 2018 in the pilot zone. COPHC & GPA would spend $2.500 billion on development of the main Free Zone. More than 100 companies from Pakistan, China, and other countries have submitted their applications for registration as Gwadar Port Free Zone enterprises.

Through CPEC plans, the investment includes a 300 MW power plant, $14 million desalination plant, the 19 kilometre East Bay Expressway to connect the port to the Makran Coastal Highway with a cost of $143.000 million and a $280 million international airport. In April 2016 Zhang Baozhong, the chairman of China Overseas Port Holding Company said his company alone would be investing $4.5 billion to develop the port and free zone area, covering everything from hotels to port & logistic infrastructure, roads and power.

It should be emphasised that China is not the sole investor in Gwadar and indeed the Pakistani government has put a lot into developing this area, both in terms of investment and infrastructure. One example of this is with the Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute, a technical training facility that will train local residents to operate

machinery and secure employment when companies arrive in the economic zone.

Port Authority Chairman Dostain Khan Jamaldini is in no doubt about the potential of this investment: “We could emerge as a key shipping point and when combined with surrounding areas we could become a trade hub and Pakistan’s business community is waiting to contribute,” he enthuses.

It should also be said that Gwadar has also benefited from recent concerns regarding security. There are particular worries about the Straits of Malacca and that any disruption there could prove potentially catastrophic for the CPEC project. Therefore investing in Gwadar not only makes economic sense but also provides an additional secure route in the event of any attacks around the Straits of Malacca and to minimise anything that could jeopardise Chinese economic progress, or indeed for any of China’s trading partners.

This is why in the long term Gwadar is being primed to increase its capacity. Potential threats in Gulf Region and possible closer of

Strait of Hurmoz is yet another challenge to businesses and shipping lines. For Gwadar, which is an open-to-ocean port at the mouth of Strait of Hurmuz, it is estimated that it will eventually be able to handle 400 million tons of cargo with long term plans for 100 berths to built in the port by 2045. The port Chairman Mr. Jamaldini is confident that Gwadar Port is symbol of peace and prosperity for economically weak Balochistan province as well as for the entire hinterland of the port spreading up to the Afghanistan, CARs and the Western Provinces of China.

Traders and business people can attach expectations from Gwadar in coming times.

In some respects this may seem strange, almost a throwback to another era where countries traded goods across the high seas. While traditionally ports were massive economic hubs in recent years this has not always been the case. However there is no getting away from the fact the geographical location of Gwadar Port is a stroke of luck, something that others could not benefit from.

Even in the modern day a well-positioned port is a massive advantage for any country and with the efforts of authority Chairman Dostain Khan Jamaldini and the rest of the Gwadar Port Authority it has shown that the port is poised to take full advantage of this fortune.

There are a lot of potential rewards that can be made not just for CPEC but also for the local people who have worked for years to develop that area and deserve all of the benefits that come with it. l

Gwadar Port Authority www.gwadarport.gov.pk • Pakistan’s third port alongside Karachi and Qasim • Part of China’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative & Gateway of CPEC • Caters for general, bulk and container cargo

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Profile: northlink ferries

Making

waves

T

his year, 2017, has been a special one for Scotland as it was officially designated the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, showcasing the best of the country’s unique past and rich culture. Few places north of the English border have a more fascinating history, however, as the islands of Orkney and Shetland, which boast a wealth of heritage sites, ancient monuments, folklore and traditions, which have played a vital role in attracting tourists for decades.

Physically getting to the aforementioned islands is, of course, not as simple as say visiting a city or town via bus, train or car, which is why it is so important that they are able to rely on the crucial, reliable connectivity provided by NorthLink Ferries.

Three passenger vessels operate on its Orkney & Shetland routes: the MV Hjatland, the MV Hrossey and MV Hamnavoe, the company also operates two freight vessels: MV Hildasay and MV Helliar. Supporting

its operations are the company’s offices in Stromness, Kirkwall, Lerwick and Aberdeen, as well as the ferry terminals at Hatston and Scrabster. Together, these vessels and operations provide a vital lifeline service to the Northern Isles for islanders and visitors alike.

Purpose built for their respective routes, NorthLink Ferries’ passenger vessels offer the highest standards of safety and comfort, with services designed to get users in the mood for exploring the islands. Services on board include a range of cabins for overnight accommodation, Sleeping Pods, public shower facilities, bars, children’s play areas, a cinema and its ‘The Feast’ restaurant. The brand-new menus that can be found on all of the company’s vessels feature lots of locally sourced food and all of NorthLink Ferries’ passenger vessels have achieved the coveted ‘Taste Our Best’ award, awarded by Visit Scotland for the use of local food and drink, the highest levels of vessel hygiene and for demonstrating customer service excellence.

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Profile: northlink ferries

While maintaining the highest standards of customer care and service have and always will be central to the work of NorthLink Ferries, 2017 has also seen the company increasing its focus on its essential Northern Isles freight and livestock services. Serving the Isles since 2002, NorthLink Ferries has seen substantial growth in the transport of commercial goods and vehicles, while at the same time developing the range of associated services on offer. As a result, the company’s vessels are today designed to carry loads of varying size, from cars to over-sized heavy goods vehicles, live animals and fish, temperature controlled foodstuffs, containers,

heavy lift equipment and project cargoes.

With the introduction of its new specialist freight vessels, transporting containerised goods to Orkney and Shetland has never been so flexible, with services offered daily, seven days a week. Each of NorthLink Ferries freight vessels have a weather deck capacity to carry up to 266 x 20-foot containers (TEU), while the use of a Ro-Ro trailer system means that the company can arrange for containers to be loaded on to a six metre or 12 metre roll trailer that can then be shipped on any of its vessels. The company now also possesses the ability to complement its successful Ro-Ro service with a lift-on, lift-off (Lo-Lo) service,

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Profile: northlink ferries

and at certain times of year is able to offer freight ship charter options for customer requiring project cargoes. These are typically transported to the Northern Isles from the UK or Scandinavia.

One of the more unique specialties of NorthLink Ferries’ freight offering is

its livestock service, which is provided as part of its lifeline service commitment to the Northern Isles. It is estimated that the company’s vessels transport around 25,000 cattle and 30,000 sheep per year, with each transit being conducted under strict welfare requirements that are monitored

by Animal Health (APHA) and local council Environmental Health departments. Vets also regularly travel with the animals on-board its vessels, on both scheduled and un-scheduled inspection visits.

The animals are loaded into containers from the company’s shoreside lairages, and are loaded on-board the vessel. Once on-board, each container is securely lashed to the deck in accordance with international standard ISO9367, ensuring that the container does not move at all while the ship is in transit. While in transit, animals are regularly monitored by members of crew, who are fully trained in animal welfare and handling.

The company has a range of double and single deck livestock containers operating on its Aberdeen – Kirkwall – Lerwick service.

These containers have several key design features to ensure that high standards of animal welfare are maintained during transit.

These include a ‘hospital’ pen capability, solar powered inspection lights and an integral ladder, which allows inspection of the upper deck. Water is provided constantly through connection to the vessel supply.

Feed is also provided through integral feed racks and there is an innovative effluent storage system. This means that animals are transported in optimal welfare conditions while onboard all NorthLink Ferries’ vessels.

Across the business, NorthLink Ferries continues to focus on the development of the brand. Working with Babcocks Shipyard, the company has been working to maintain the highest maritime standards that it and its customers demand. With big plans also afoot to invest further in its present fleet of five ships, 2018 could well be a milestone year for the business. l

Northlink Ferries www.northlinkferries.co.uk • Dedicated passenger services to Orkney and Shetland • Specialised freight services for a range of cargo • Provides key transportation for livestock

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Staying the

course G

ibraltar’s reputation as a maritime ‘Centre of Excellence’ has been well documented, both within the pages of Land, Sea and Air and throughout the industry. Catching up on developments in and around the largest bunkering port in the Mediterranean over the last six months, perhaps the most significant news is the ascension of

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Manuel Tirado to the position of acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Captain of the Port. Manuel’s move to this role is tailormade for a man who has spent the better part of 35 years working within the field and possesses a wealth of experience that can be put to good use.

“Having gratefully and proudly taken on this important role for the time being, my primary goal is to continue the work

of my predecessors in ensuring the safety of navigation in British Gibraltar territorial waters and in promoting the first-class services that the port provides to all visiting vessels to the global maritime community,” Manuel explains.

Manuel’s role as acting CEO and Captain of the Port comes at an exciting time for the port and its infrastructure as it prepares to relocate to the southern end of the Rock, a move it expects to complete by the end of 2017 or very early in the New Year. “We are, of course, very excited to be moving shortly to a new, purpose-built building and accompanying control tower,” he continues.

“As far as the new building is concerned, while it does not represent a significant increase in physical footprint, albeit it is a slightly larger site, the main advantage is that the new location provides us with an excellent vantage point, in the sense that it will allow us to monitor all traffic coming in and going out of the Bay, both from the eastern and western sides of the enclave, both visually and through the use of leading edge technology.”

The technology that Manuel speaks

Profile: Port of Gibraltar

of comes in the form of a brand-new Vessel Traffic System (VTS) that will be incorporated into the port’s new control tower facility. The VTS itself will be supplied

by Kongsberg Norcontrol, a world leader in port, offshore, coastal surveillance and e-Navigation systems for VTS, port, coastal and river authorities, and following a short period of installation and testing should be operational in early 2018.

The Gibraltar Port Authority’s move into its new facilities comes at a time of not only great opportunities, but also significant challenges. Fortunately for Manuel, he is confident that he has the resources behind him to prosper even in times of uncertainty.

“I feel very privileged to have behind me a great team, made up of men and women who are prepared to face whatever challenges may arise and work together for the betterment of our port, and of Gibraltar at large,” he enthuses.

It is the dedicated work of this team that has helped usher in another year of growth for the port. In this time, the port has also been able to retain its leading positon in the bunkering market by completing a

number of projects to increase and improve upon the infrastructure needed to deliver bunker fuels to vessels. “One of the things we are excited about is the signing of a bunker market development agreement between HM Government of Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Port Authority and Shell earlier this year,” Manuel says. “This is a significant milestone on the road to delivering LNG as a bunker fuel to ships anchoring in Gibraltar. This forms a part of the port’s general strategy to provide a wider range of marine services to visitors as it looks to the future. It will also help to reinforce the port’s green credentials, which is of everincreasing importance.”

The providing of a greater mix of marine services has coincided with increasing volumes of coasters and superyachts visiting the Bay, a trend that Manuel hopes will continue for the foreseeable future.

“The message we have always wanted to deliver to people is that Gibraltar is, and will always be, open for business,” he concludes.

“Thanks to the work of our strong, dedicated

Manuel Tirado, acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Captain of the Port

team we can say that we are looking forward to facing whatever the future has in store, while constantly ensuring the safety of movement in our waters in order to maintain the sterling reputation that the Port of Gibraltar has rightly earned.” l

Port of Gibraltar www.gibraltarport.com • The Mediterranean’s largest bunkering port • Recently welcomed a new acting CEO and Captain of the Port • Moving to new, purpose-built facilities in late 2017

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In

demand

L

Dellner Brakes CEO Marcus Aberg (right) with new vice president Edgar Roca outside the company’s warehouse in Houston,Texas

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eading Swedish manufacturer Dellner Brakes AB has developed an enviable reputation for the development of innovative braking solutions for both the marine and industrial sectors. A developer, producer and maintainer of braking solutions across a number of technically challenging applications, Dellner Brakes has more than 50 years’ experience within its chosen fields and today operates as part of the 700 strong, globally operating Dellner Group of companies.

Being a relatively small organisation within a large group, Dellner Brakes has the flexibility to work collaboratively with customers, adjust quickly to market demands and make the most of new opportunities as they arise. Since they were last featured in Land, Sea & Air magazine in February 2017,

the company has been using its unique business knowledge and flexibility to develop its capabilities further. One of the most notable examples of this is Dellner Brakes’ acquisition of Gummi USA, a US based brake and clutch company.

This acquisition, the first in the company’s long history, will enable Dellner Brakes to consolidate its position as one of the leading global suppliers of brakes and related power transmission products. Gummi USA’s drum shaft brakes, reduction gear clutches, torsional couplings and rotary unions will perfectly complement Dellner’s range of technologically advanced disc brakes, systems, power packs and components. The acquisition will also enable the company to strengthen its distribution in strategic locations such as North and South America.

“Gummi USA have products that we

Profile: Dellner Brakes Following its acquisition of Gummi USA, Dellner Brakes now offers an extended range of brakes, clutches and couplings

‘‘

Looking ahead, we will continue to work as hard as possible to secure further business, as well as making sure our customers continue to receive the outstanding service and high quality products that they have come to expect from us New heavy duty, modular SKD disc brakes

previously didn’t have in our catalogue and they have a very strong presence in the US, a market where we are very keen to strengthen our foothold,” says Marcus Aberg, CEO of Dellner Brakes. “Gummi USA’s values are also complementary to our own. They have an entrepreneurial spirt and a focus on customer satisfaction through a quality driven approach - strengths which are certain to benefit our combined business going forward.”

The enlarged company operates under the Dellner brand, with Marcus at the helm and with former Gummi USA President Edgar Roca as Vice President for Dellner Brakes and Managing Director for Dellner Industrial Inc. “The acquisition officially took place on 12 September and the first few weeks have been very positive,” says Marcus. “We have already started to work together under one umbrella

and we are delighted that the management and staff at Gummi USA are all continuing to work for us. We have consolidated all our US stock and distribution operations to the Gummi USA facility in Houston, Texas and, moving forward, we are looking to expand further into South America and China.”

To support anticipated global growth and a successful period of signing new contracts, the company has recently relocated to a new facility in Borlange, Sweden. As Marcus notes: “We have been lucky and fortunate in being able to take on new business to the extent that we needed more office and production space. We moved to a new facility that we could design and fit out to suit our needs and the results have been fantastic. The new facilities are awesome and we are all working more efficiently thanks to the way the site has been set up. It has been a great investment,

with the office segment taking up a quarter of the space and the remainder being used for production.”

This additional manufacturing space is certain to be put to good use as Dellner Brakes continues to launch innovative new products including, most recently, a new range of modular SKD and lightweight SKP brakes that offer outstanding stopping power at competitive prices. The innovative, modular design of these brakes means that Dellner can combine several brake assemblies to suit specific applications and provide even more stopping power according to customers’ needs. All the new brakes have offshore versions, complete with corrosion protection and hard wearing paint and pistons that are designed to withstand harsh conditions.

There are also a range of optional extras such as mounting brackets, double sealing kits

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Profile: Dellner Brakes The HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, fitted with Dellner Brakes

Dellner Brakes’ largest ever STL system, for QE Class aircraft carriers

and brake pads made from several different friction materials.

These new brakes are the latest in a long line of innovations from Dellner Brakes and follow the launch of the world’s very first fully automated electrical stopping, turning and locking eSTL system (patent pending) in 2016. This electrical system complements the company’s hydraulic STL that has already been used in a number of notable contracts, including the UK Royal Navy’s two new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, which each boast two STL systems weighing in at 11,000 kg each - the largest that Dellner Brakes has built to date!

With the launch of cutting edge products and a number of projects both ongoing and in the pipeline, the future looks bright for Dellner Brakes as it focuses on potential expansion into new segments and the design of new innovations that will further benefit its customers.

“2017 has been good so far and we are really pleased with the work we have going on,” concludes Marcus. ”And looking ahead, we will continue to work as hard as possible to secure further business, as well as making sure our customers continue to receive the outstanding service and high quality products that they have come to expect from us.” l

Dellner Brakes www.dellner-brakes.com

One of the QE Class 33 tonne propellers

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• Brake solutions specialist for industrial and marine applications • Global customer base • Recently acquired Gummi USA

Profile: Smartlynx Airlines

A smarter way to

fly

S

martlynx Airlines was founded in 1992. Originally known as Latcharter Airlines it was based in Riga, Latvia and consisted of four professional pilots and an experienced engineer. It became the first airline to offer package holidays from Riga as well as being able to provide government, military and executive charter flights. Since then it has expanded to the point where it has a fleet comprising of 14 Airbus aircraft (13 A320 and one A321).

Development In 2016, the company was sold to the Dutch Investment firm Tripod Investment Management, something that CEO Zygimantas Surintas feels was crucial in Smartlynx’s development: “This offered us broader financial opportunities, and we feel the strong support from the investor has meant we can feel safer about the future and come up with more ambitious goals.”

Smartlynx has also benefited from long term partnerships with Thomas Cook and EasyJet. In the case of the former Smartlynx has been in a long term ACMI partnership with Thomas Cook since 2012 and in 2017 it maintained this with a new wet lease agreement including the lease of two A320 aircraft as well as a similar agreement with EasyJet. The company has also been working in collaboration with Magnetic MRO on numerous services including aircraft base maintenance, painting and sourcing landing gear units.

This development has seen increased demand from passengers: “In 2015 it reached 1.6 million and in 2016 1.9 million. We expect this trend to continue - the year has not yet ended but we have already seen the total number reaching 2.2 million in October,” Zygimantas states. He believes that this is down to adapting to consumer demand. “The reason for this is the implementation of the company’s development strategy: opening of new routes and destinations for charter flights

from/to Riga, Tallinn, Paris and Copenhagen, as well as strengthening of co-operation with our ACMI partners.”

Quality Another area where Smartlynx has developed a competitive edge is in the depth and diversity of its crew who are from 17 different nations, are multi-lingual and trained to IOSA and EASA standards. Furthermore, the average experience of the company’s captains is over 53,000 block hours with over 1900 block hours for First Officers. The company has its own approved pilot training company called SmartLynx ATO and this is part of an overall programme ensuring that new crew members as well as experienced crew can receive ongoing training, something that is considered crucial to the service it provides: “The company’s key goal is the comfort and safety of its passengers which is why we have strict quality and security standards,” Zygimantas elaborates.

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Profile: Smartlynx Airlines

CEO Zygimantas Surintas

On top of this the company also reported a net turnover of 108.4 million euros in 2016, an increase of 18 per cent on the previous year: “There is an increasing demand for air transport, which suggests that the market has recovered from the economic crisis. People’s financial situation has stabilised and their travel habits have returned to the pre-crisis level. We intend to take full advantage of this trend,” Zygimantas says.

On the 31st March Smartlynx celebrated its 25th anniversary. The company has proven to be a long-term success despite challenging times – of the nine private companies that were established in Latvia around the same time only Smartlynx has managed not only to survive but crucially continue to thrive and build on its success by modernising its fleet and maintaining high standards.

Indeed, the company has established itself as Latvia’s second largest air carrier, among

“First of all it is the people - who began this complex business, who ensured its further development into an international company and bringing in advanced know-how. Each and every one has contributed to our anniversary celebration and we can’t stress enough the significance of every Smartlynx team member. But as significant as this anniversary is it is only a milestone and our work continues,” he clarifies.

Zygimantas has a clear vision as to how Smartlynx will continue to build on what it has already achieved: “In Europe our business is subject to seasonal shifts and the market is most active from May until October. For that reason, it is important for us to enter markets that have no seasonality and that

the top ten service exporters in the country as well as the leading ACMI and charter provider in the EU. Zygimantas is under no illusions as to how it managed to achieve this position and why this is just the start:

means we will continue to seriously develop our operations outside of Europe, particularly in Asia,” he outlines. Smartlynx has begun the process of expansion including a base in Vietnam as well as plans to fly to destinations

Happy anniversary

such as Cambodia, the Philippines and Malaysia. The company is not solely focused on increasing its presence into Asia as it is also looking into offering flights from Canada to Latin America and the Caribbean islands.

In short Smartlynx has had to work hard to achieve its current position despite a lot of problems that other businesses in their area have faced. While challenges remain if the company continues to follow the example of Zygimantas and the crew then it is likely that Smartlynx will build on its success for some time to come. l

Smartlynx Airlines http://www.smartlynx.aero • Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year • Fleet consists of 13 Airbus A320 aircraft and one Airbus 321 aircraft • Passenger numbers increased from 1.6m in 2015 to 1.9m in 2016

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A gateway to

paradise

F

or well over 100 years, visitors to the Caribbean island of Jamaica have been left awestruck by its natural beauty. The combination of its tropical beaches, blue-green waters and iconic Blue Mountains provided the government of the time to stage an ‘International Exhibition’ in 1891, with the aim being to bring people to the island for the first time and in turn lay the foundations for a steady flow of tourists. This signalled the beginning of the government’s commitment to the development of Jamaica’s tourist industry.

Each decade since, more and more visitors have been attracted to Jamaica’s natural wonders, its history and world-class facilities.

Figures for 2015 show that the island welcomed almost 3.7 million visitors, with total visitor expenditure estimated to be more than $2.4 billion, a huge figure that helps to underline the importance of the tourism industry.

The leading tourism gateway to Jamaica is Sangster International Airport (SIA). Ideally located on the northwest coast of the island, at the centre of its main tourism region, the airport is also within driving distance of the Montego Bay and Ocho Rios cruise ports, and the popular tourist town of Negril. “We sit in the centre of what we call the ‘tourist corridor’, with 90 per cent of the island’s hotel rooms situated within a 90-minute drive of the airport,” explains SIA’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Rafael Echevarne.

With approximately 95 per cent of total passenger numbers arriving at SIA being those that are travelling internationally, and

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with a peak arriving and departing capacity of 4200 passengers per hour, the airport is currently on course to handle a record four million visitors in 2017. “Our current growth rate, to the end of September, is 6.8 per cent,” Rafael adds. “For September alone, which is typically one of the slower months of growth, we have witnessed amazing growth of 10.9 per cent, which is very encouraging news for us.”

Around 70 per cent of the airport’s passengers are those flying in and out of the United States, with the vast majority of the remaining 30 per cent originating from Canada and major European countries. Said passengers arrive on the airport’s single runway strip, measuring 2653 metres long and 46 metres wide, before taxiing to aprons capable of accommodating a range of aircrafts, most typically Airbus A320’s, Boeing 737’s and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The last major period of development for the airport was initiated back in April 2003, when the Government of Jamaica granted MBJ Airports Limited a 30-year concession

agreement to operate and manage SIA. Over the following five years, considerable work was undertaken to modernise and improve the airport, work which resulted in a 46 per cent increase in apron area, 12 additional loading bridges and gates, and the doubling in size of the Air Terminal Building to more than 47,000 square feet. In addition, considerable improvements were made to customer service areas such as the arrival and customs halls, baggage claim areas, check-in zones and retail spaces.

Fast forward to today and Rafael and his team are excited to be entering into a whole new phase of airport development.

“One of our main undertakings will be the extension of our runway, which we plan to extend by a further 281 metres,” he states.

“Linked to this will be a programme of reinforcing and upgrading our taxi ways and aprons, at a cost of around $20 million.

These projects are designed to ensure that we have the infrastructure in place to accommodate the anticipated growth in passenger numbers in the coming years. Tied

Profile: Montego Bay Jamaica Airport – Sangster International Airport

to this will be the expanding of our terminal building, in which we will be looking to further perfect our check-in areas, add further baggage carousels for inbound and outbound flights, remodel the immigration and security hall, extend our arrivals zone, and revamp our commercial offering.”

With an ambitious programme of work planned, one of the key responsibilities for Rafael will be to ensure that any works taking place do not interfere with the day-to-day operation of the airport. “We have to make sure that we time everything carefully in order to minimise passenger and aircraft disruption, particularly during peak times,” he says. “The logistics of doing so makes for a big challenge for us, but it is one that we have already demonstrated our ability to overcome.”

At the heart of the above work, and indeed of the daily running of SIA, is a desire to make the entire passenger experience as simple, stress-free and enjoyable as possible. “One of the most important elements I want to inject into what we are doing here at SIA is delivering that ‘wow factor’ wherever possible,” Rafael enthuses. “Not only do we want to ensure that the infrastructure and services we have in place care for the needs of all of our passengers, we also want to make their visit to the airport an experience in itself.

“All too often in the past, passenger experiences at airports have been seen to represent a challenge or an obstacle and we do not want this to be the case, rather we want a visit to SIA to be something that is actually enjoyable and forms part of the overall holiday experience. By incorporating

new technologies, processes and solutions we want to continue to work in close partnership with other bodies and organisations, such as immigration and security forces, to make the whole process of passing through an airport as seamless as possible. This will allow for passengers to spend more time enjoying their visit. As the largest passenger airport on the island, SIA is an integral part of the holiday experience in Jamaica after all, and we want to be a visual, tangible and positive part of that experience for many years to come.” l

Montego Bay Jamaica Airport – Sangster International Airport www.mbjairport.com • Jamaica’s largest international airport • Due to welcome four million passengers in 2017 • Continuous modernisation of its services and facilities

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&

Land,Sea Air

Incorporating Shipping & Marine

Schofield Publishing Limited Unit 10, Cringleford Business Centre, Intwood Road, Cringleford, Norwich, NR4 6AU, UK Tel: +44 (0) 1603 274130 Fax: +44 (0) 1603 274131 Editor: Libbie Hammond libbie@schofieldpublishing.co.uk Managing Director: Joe Woolsgrove jwoolsgrove@schofieldpublishing.co.uk