The Kloosterboer Delta terminal is situated in the logistical heart of The Netherlands and close to the major container terminals in the Maasvlakte port area. This strategic location offers companies new opportunities for reducing costs throughout their entire supply chain, including by saving on transport costs and veterinary inspections.
With a total storage capacity of over 3 million cubic metres, Kloosterboer is one of The Netherlands’ biggest logistics service providers for temperature-controlled food-related cargo. The company has 15 facilities around the world, 10 of which within The Netherlands. The company’s existing high-bay cold-storage warehouse on the Maasvlakte was recently extended by adding a new, conventional refrigerated warehouse including eight refrigeration and freezer cells.
“In contrast to our high-bay cold-storage warehouse, no fully automated computer-controlled cranes are in operation in this new facility,” says Leo Euser, general manager of Kloosterboer Delta Terminal. “Instead, a team of specialised forklift truck drivers place the goods in the drive-in pallet rack systems which extend up to 11 metres high. These pallet systems enable us to call off goods at pallet level meaning that we can deal more efficiently with smaller batch sizes with a larger degree of differentiation. The warehouse is also ideally suited for handling varied, smaller consignments. As a result, we can provide better service to our customers, including by offering value-added services such as restacking or labelling.”
‘The growth in containerisation is forcing Kloosterboer to think creatively’
The 28 dock shelters at the Kloosterboer Delta Terminal offer plenty of opportunities for cross-docking and for handling goods for the transhipment market. “Moreover, in September 2013 the terminal gained official approval as a veterinary inspection point. This means that we can now offer our services to third parties in addition to our warehousing customers. We have made four speed dock shelters permanently available for this purpose. Our two spacious expedition halls guarantee that the logistics operations run smoothly.”
Kloosterboer takes care of the entire logistics process for containers which arrive from abroad carrying food-related products. “This also includes customs clearance, cross-docking and transport to other destinations in Europe. The strategic locations of our various facilities offer countless possibilities for them to be used as a consolidation point for export cargo. If desired, we can also organise sea freight to ensure perfect alignment between inbound freight and outbound containers.”
The growth in containerisation is forcing Kloosterboer to think creatively. The Kloosterboer Container Logistics container depot in Vlissingen is a prime example of the company’s creativity. Euser: “In order to continue to offer a viable alternative to a large container port, we reached agreement with a number of larger container shipping companies to set up a container depot in Vlissingen. A joint container depot of that kind ensures optimum utilisation by the ship owners’ inbound reefer containers. As a result, local exporters benefit from savings on transport costs; the containers no longer need to be collected from Rotterdam or Antwerp first. Furthermore, Kloosterboer offers a barge service for onward transport to the major sea ports. The advantage of barge transport is that it avoids the congested roads around the major ports – it’s a mode of transport that helps to reduce carbon emissions, in other words.”
“Innovation and sustainably are high priorities for us,” continues Euser. “We are continually working to reduce the environmental impact of our activities. We have recently installed a wind turbine at our Vlissingen facility, for instance. And our new cold-storage warehouse at the Maasvlakte has been designed and assessed in accordance with BREEAM certification standards. BREEAM is the world’s leading and most widely recognised measure of a building’s environmental performance. Kloosterboer has also decided to install solar panels at this facility in the near future which will generate around 400,000 kWh of electricity annually: more than enough to power the refrigeration and freezing units.”
The cells can hold 10,000 pallets in total and offer an impressive storage height of 11 metres.
Moreover, Kloosterboer is continually looking for innovative and creative total solutions for its customers’ logistics. “From storage space for a cargo consignment to ideas for tackling specific logistics and supply chain-related challenges. We have extensive experience in providing temperature-controlled logistics services. We’re happy to put our expertise to good use to help companies who face specific and complex logistics problems or supply chain issues, including by developing, building or running a new cold storage facility if necessary. Our strength lies in combining high-level analysis with many years of practical experience. We take a hands-on, solution-driven and tailor-made approach.”FF
Source: Kloosterboer
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