For JBT FoodTech in St. Niklaas (Belgium) we handled a unique, extremely large air transport shipment on a single flight. An impressive shipment of 21 custom-made containers holding the parts for an advanced canning production line for milk powder travelled by plane from Luxembourg to Shanghai Pu Dong Airport. This was a fine example of supply chain management involving a machine manufacturer, road and air carriers and customs officials for a complete package of Meilink logistics services and industrial packaging solutions.
Supply chain management
Meilink is more than happy to explain all that went on behind the scenes. ‘Speed was of the essence, and so, as preferred forwarder of JBT FoodTech, we did not hesitate to arrange transporting the shipment by air. This means that you have to be very precise in the space you purchase, since allotting cargo space on a plane is a precision affair. What’s more, you have to be sure that everything is ready to be loaded and that all customs formalities have been completed on the day of departure. And even before this, Meilink had delivered containers made exactly to size and handled the packaging on location at JBT FoodTech in Sint Niklaas. So, our project planning had to be precisely aligned with the project planning at JBT.’
Via Rotterdam to Luxembourg Airport
‘We loaded everything in St. Niklaas and transported this to Rotterdam where explosive detection dogs screened the shipment. There, all the paperwork, including all customs formalities, was also completed. The goods were then transported to the outbound airport, Luxembourg Airport, from where they flew to Shanghai Pu Dong Airport in China. The delivery was CPT on the part of JBT. CPT is the Incoterm for “Carriage Paid To” and means that the supplier pays the costs for delivering the goods to an agreed destination. Once in Shanghai, the Chinese branch of JBT FoodTech took over the handling of the shipment.’
Matching customisation and weight
The entire shipment comprised 21 crates with a total weight of 24,961 kilogrammes. The largest container measured 3.27 x 2.32 x 2.65 meters (LxWxH) and weighed 6,475 kilogrammes. The goods were all intended for the Food Processing industry, specifically for a milk-powder canning line. Shipping it all on one single flight – matching the aircraft to the goods needing to be transported – was an impressive feat by the Meilink logistics team!
Want to know more?
If you’d like to learn more about our logistics arrangements for handling international shipments of equipment and machines, visit meilink.com. You can also get in touch with us via Contact - Meilink.
