An Out of the Ordinary Operation for Hellmann France

In May this year, Hellmann France was consigned by Fives Cryo, a producer of cryogenic products and services, to transport two heavy-duty cold boxes from their factory in the Vosges Region, in Eastern France, to Antwerp port, in Belgium.

29 September 2022

Focus

The so-called ‘cold boxes’ are self-supporting structures that insulate and protect any kind of cryogenic contents from external influences – such as rain, snow and wind - during the refinery process. Each of the two cold boxes weighed a remarkable 57 and 102 tons respectively, transporting the units across the two countries definitely presented some challenges along the way, which the team successfully overcame.

The cold boxes passing through a village in France

Overall, the journey took just under 5 days to complete, spanning over 75km in total. The units were transported by truck from the factory to the small port of Nancy, and passed through several small villages, through which the team had to very carefully navigate. The convoy successfully made its way through the traffic and managed to overcome all obstacles that they faced

The trucks carefully navigating through potential obstacles

To ensure complete smooth sailing and to avoid any inland difficulties along the way, Hellmann chartered a small barge to safely transport the cargo to the port in Antwerp. Upon arrival at the port, the units awaited loading onto the final charter vessel. Due to their size, the large heavy cold boxes were breakbulk loaded onto the vessel, meaning that they weren’t shipped in a shipping container and therefore didn’t need to be deconstructed and reconstructed at the ports.

Loading of the cold boxes onto the barge

Once loaded onto the vessel, the cargo set-off on its voyage for its final destination, in India. The success of this stand-out transportation was all thanks to the seamless coordination and cooperation of the team, all guided by Sergio Araujo - a true logistics artist!

“Due to the size of the cargo and the convoy in general, this operation presented several challenges in terms of coordination with the different authorities involved in the pre-established itinerary. In addition to all of this, several civil works started at several points of our itinerary, again pushing us to find solutions to pass the convoy through.This operation was a real opportunity for Hellmann to prove our know-how in handling oversized cargo and how Hellmann is committed to their customers”, says Sergio Araujo, Project Cargo – Business Development Manager France.

Do you need more information about transporting heavy-duty cargo across France and beyond? Please contact us for more information and rates.