Light, durable, corrosion-resistant and cost-effective: aluminium can be found in many products – in motor vehicles and door frames as well as in food packaging or electrical products. Aluminium that is used industrially is transported in heavy bars. These weigh between a good 7 and 15 tonnes – a challenge in terms of their transportation and loading.
The KARST freight forwarding company, which belongs to the ZIEGLER group, is well-known for its logistics expertise. An experienced team of four employees unloaded a shipload of 2,000 tonnes of aluminium bars at the Bendorf Rhine harbour near Koblenz in January 2018 – in just one day!
In Rotterdam, the aluminium bars were loaded onto the inland vessel “Wilhelm D” on 19 January 2018. Four days later, the ship docked at the port of Bendorf. The unloading process was optimally prepared: the KARST team had consciously opted for this port because the cranes on the wharf have a lifting capacity of 40 tonnes – ideal for the heavy bars. At the same time, suitable forklifts were also on site. They brought the metal to the place where the bars are stored until summer. Then they are transported by truck to industrial plants throughout Germany.
One interesting detail of this unloading process is that, despite flooding, the team managed to discharge the cargo within one day. In the evening, the four logistics professionals looked down with satisfaction on the 2,000 tonnes of aluminium bars.
