Machinery transportation using an air charter: a premium solution to avoid line stoppages
The peak season is here, and the holiday season is right next door. Only hand in hand with a strategic partner in logistics, specialized industries can get their products delivered on time.
In today’s disruptive world, companies that produce items that make the holidays one of the most special moments of our lives are expecting little miracles this season.
This year, the pillars of the great global supply chain disruption seem to be:
- Zero-covid policies in China
- Natural disasters (hurricanes, low water levels on rivers)
- Workers organizing strikes
- Cargo rolling and blank sailings
But, to mention good news, too, ocean freight rates are slowly but steadily falling in most parts of the world.
About the project
Our clients, a global leader in the food & beverage sector, needed more than machinery transportation: they needed a whole new production line in Mexico, robust and modern, to fulfill the end-of-the-year demand.
The machinery manufacturer is located in Delbruk (Germany). Our client’s plant, in Toluca (Mexico). The six bands would be divided into eight parts for shipment.
Nevertheless, at that time, shipping companies had almost no spaces available – both in vessels and containers.
The standard air service for a movement like this would require space in a cargo plane – that solution was actually offered by some freight forwarders.
However, cargo flights have space limits, and it would take many hours of negotiation with the airlines to get what we needed for transporting each of the eight parts. At least six flights would be needed. One per week.
Even so, the production line would not arrive at the expected time. There would be no time advantage – and it was going to cost around 8 times more than shipping in through the seas.
The solution
At EP America, we think outside of the container. Our specialized consultancy team –which has a key account manager dedicated to the needs of each customer– designed an alternative tailored to their needs of machinery transportation, coordinating the operations in a very specific time frame:
A Boeing 747-400F exclusively for our client.
A huge air charter.
Having three weeks to transport the production line, the clock was ticking to organize the entire movement.
Something that played a big part was the volume of the cargo; meaning that the production line would not be transported fully assembled, nor piece by piece.
As the manufacturer had to run tests before sending it overseas, some sections of the machinery would already be exported assembled.
So, it was necessary to consider the dimensions of the parts that were already packed.
At this point, our client faced another drawback: The Germany facility faced a shortage of wood for packaging.
With our global network of top-notch international agents and suppliers, specialized in all the details to coordinate movements of this magnitude –avoiding setbacks – our teams were able to take care of the precise packaging of all parts, in a week.
Machinery transportation: divide and conquer
With the capacity to move up to 600cbm, a 747-700F Boeing aircraft was selected as the ideal solution – but only for part of the cargo.
With the optimal package to avoid any damages to such fine machinery, the complete production line reached 1,425cbm and 294T of volume.
The plan to succeed in the coordination and delivery on time of the complete production line was to export to Mexico 37 wooden boxes, in a total of 645cbm (34T) using the 747-700F Boeing.
The cargo fulfilled the aircraft’s whole main deck, one of the greatest in the market.
Fun fact: Usually, cargo flights have less than 30 positions available for a maximum of 500cbm on the main deck.
With precise coordination to schedule the optimal time at each airport – avoiding the great global congestion – the cargo left Frankfurt (IATA: FRA) at 14:00 on a Thursday and arrived at 23:00 on Friday at Mexico City (IATA: MEX), after a quick refueling in Atlanta (IATA: ATL).
With our teams and our highly specialized and reliable network of carriers in origin and destination, we managed to overcome a delay in the arrival of the aircraft, which had problems with the congestion of the airport of its previous mission, in China.
Our teams were able to coordinate all communication between airports to avoid problems and organize well the arrival and unloading of all material.
Customs procedures at the airport in Mexico work in a “first come, first served” style, so we were formed since 5am on Saturday, to ensure we would be the first ones to get to customs.
On Saturday afternoon, the cargo departed to our client’s plant in Toluca in 9 ground-freight units well fastened and protected by good, safe tarpaulins.
On Monday, the assembly team was already at full speed to start producing in very little time.
The other parts of the machinery were exported to Mexico in ocean freight. It was 780cbm (260T) distributed in 13 containers, leaving the port of Hamburg to Veracruz, in Mexico, in 17 days.
Why is EP America your best strategic partner in logistics when you need to import machinery from Europe?
- The ability to move a production line using the air charter service, with expertise to meet all operational requirements and negotiations to transform this challenge into a success story for our customers.
- Personalized attentionfrom logistics experts to advise and provide support to the client from the beginning of the project.
- Dedication to detail until the culmination of the comprehensive logistics service. Our client in today’s story experienced logistics consulting, critical cargo, air import, ground transport and ocean freight teams working as one, united by a single purpose: customer satisfaction.
- By partnering with us, you will also have a network of the best partner agents working for you, for an excellent coordination of movements of this relevance.
- Premium solutions for time-critical deliveries.
Connect us now and let us know your most specific logistics needs, such as machinery transportation. Everything is connected.
