Global Logistics and Supply Chain Strategies - August 2008 - (Page 46) Even though our temporary bridge was expensive, it assured on-time delivery and it avoided other costs such as cutting, rewelding, retesting and other time delays.” Cost also played a role in selection of modes, according to Carey, but so did practical concerns. For example, water transport was used where possible, not just because it is less expensive, but because the size of the pieces simply eliminated the possibility of road transport for many of the moves within Germany. River Moves Thus, the next step for moving the components, either from the Port of Hamburg or from the contractors in Bavaria, was by river barge. The pieces that came through Hamburg would come down the Elbe and Saale rivers to the closest port to Leuna. The pieces from Bavaria would take a circuitous river route from the south. The first move in June 2007 was the 270-ton reactors. BDP Project Logistics loaded them on a barge on the Danube River, moved them on the RhineMain-Danube Canal via Nuremberg and then east and southeast to the small river port of Aken about 80 kilometers from the Leuna plant site. The journey that would have taken about three hours by car took 14 days along the circuitous river route. In November 2007, BDP picked up the two Japanese reactors in Hamburg and moved them by barge, which also picked up the Bavarian reactor which had been transported in June and was now in storage at the river port of Aken. All three were then moved closer to Leuna up the Saale River to avoid the need to cross one of two rail lines. “The Saale is very small and shallow, but it was at the right level to allow us to navigate all the way to a small jetty called Pfuetzhal for temporary storage,” says Scerra. The longest land leg for all major pieces was from the Pfuetzhal river jetty to the plant site. The pieces moved on special lowboy trailers with many axles to spread the load. The trailer for the 270-ton reactor had 21 axles. One truck pulled and another one pushed. For the “smaller” 100-ton pieces, BDP used low-boy trailers with 10 axles. The narrow roads, power and telephone lines, small bridges, abundant trees and many small towns along the way, however, presented problems at every step. “We went through a dozen towns in the middle of the night to avoid disruption and damage claims,” says Scerra. “Our route Where existing roads could not be used or too many obstructions were present, BDP Project Logistics moved the major pieces on temporary bypass roads made from aluminum panels. All 11 components for the Quinn Chemical plant arrived in Leuna, Germany, either on time or ahead of schedule, and on budget. ing them. Since the towers are intended to hold gases under high pressure, Quinn did not like the idea of potentially compromising the towers’ integrity. This approach would also have adversely impacted an already tight schedule. BDP’s plan was to bring the tower in as one piece using a unique, temporary bridge. And while the actual cost of the project logistics pales in comparison to the importance of getting the new plant completed on time, Carey insists that transportation and logistics costs were very much a part of the vendor selection process. Hüseyin Kizilagac, director of sales for BDP Project Logistics, agrees that his company would not have been awarded the contract if it had not come in with a competitive cost. “Quinn looked at more than a straight comparison of transportation quotes,” he says. “They considered total logistics cost. 46 AUGUST 2008
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