Logistics and tank container transport: beyond the crisis

Lack of goods, difficulties in transport, shortages of consumer goods and basic necessities. The effects of delayed (or even missing) deliveries on companies and individuals. These shortages could last for a long time to come, creating difficulties that could impact many commercial and production sectors, while tank container transport could be a solution to critical issues. In conversation with Sandro Rubino, the owner of Rubino Rs, an Apulian company specialising in the transport of food and non-food liquids with its own road tankers and bi-modal tank containers.

How to overcome the global crisis for shipping and transport

Among the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, in recent months we have learnt about transport logistics, shipping, and goods handling in general. Organisation, attention to detail, availability of a large fleet of vehicles and containers, willingness to listen to customer needs and flexibility as a recipe for going beyond critical issues.

“In these months we have learnt to deal with issues we had never seen before”, commented Sandro Rubino, “The extended delivery times and the price increases were direct effects of the pandemic that also significantly impacted our sector and further highlighted some existing difficulties. As far as we are concerned, we have brilliantly overcome these obstacles by amplifying and further improving our specificities. Thanks to our continually updated fleet of vehicles and containers, we are always able to offer customers new possibilities, also thanks to our ability to optimise transport and organise it in detail, planning deliveries in the best possible way thanks to our flexibility and previously established relationships, thus identifying the best solutions”..

Intermodal transport: what it means

The logistics and transport sector has also suffered in recent months (especially in times of lockdowns or severe restrictions) from a shortage of human resources. This critical issue has been overcome thanks to intermodal transport. “We were among the first to believe in intermodal transport as an environmentally sustainable solution and a way to speed up and guarantee shipments,” pointed out Sandro Rubino, “We were thus prepared to face certain difficulties. With intermodal transport, for example, we bypass the problem of high fuel prices. A return to normalcy is expected in the coming months, yet at the moment solutions are scarce. We ask customers to plan their shipment with appropriate timeframes, and on our side we work out the best solution at a fair price’.

For quite some time now, our proposal has been consistent with the major international players, based on changing transport habits, combining traditional road transport with intermodal transport. The progressive achievement of this result is a development in terms of rationalisation of general activities, as well as an appreciable beneficial effect in terms of environmental sustainability and quality of life in the area. We must also consider that our specialisation in the transport of liquid foodstuffs”,continued Rubino – has always required that we pay the utmost attention to transport times. Here too, investments in intermodal transport connecting southern Italy to the remaining destinations in northern Italy and Europe lead us to make a significant reduction and shorten travel times compared to traditional transport”.

Logistics and transport, a complete cycle from handling to washing

Rubino Rs is also able to complete the handling, storage and washing cycle, a plus in logistics and tank container transport.

Entrusting the internal washing of our tanks and tank containers to the division called Transiberiana Servizi, which specialises in internal tank washing, steam heating and storage services, exploits the opportunities of a site equipped to comfortably handle and store tank containers. We have 40 dedicated container carriers for tank container transport with easy access to loading and unloading operations, and a fully paved 10,000 square metre forecourt with annexed offices, two indoor tank washing tracks and an outdoor track for external washing: these are all significant advantages.

“Thanks to this organisation we are able to go beyond this crisis in the logistics and transport sector”, commented Rubino, “by offering our customers consistently good solutions. It must be emphasised that reference cannot be made to a structural crisis of the system, but only of some major, but still surmountable, criticalities. For example, the necessary arrangements allow us to transport food liquids from north to south Italy and to and from Europe with a regular timetable; intermodal transport and the adaptability of our containers allows us to always evaluate the best alternatives”.

The advantages of intermodal transport using food containers

Nowadays, doing business means effectively coordinating different parameters and aspects: production, workforce, logistics and transport. Transporting goods while guaranteeing quality and safety means, first and foremost, dispatching your products quickly, at the right cost, without compromising on product quality. Transporting food liquids, in particular, requires close attention to be paid to all these aspects. Speed, safety, reliability and flexibility are all requirements that are fully satisfied by multimodal transport. The use of resources (including economic resources) is therefore optimised and the product can complete its journey, as long or short as it may be, without any risks.

Avoiding cargo breakage (essential in the transport of foodstuffs), shipping via proprietary tank containers with total safety thanks to the tracking system, having the ability to organise logistics, relying on the instrumental and punctual approach of intermodal and individual shipments, providing customers with the support they need to guarantee flexibility in operations these are all to be considered advantages of intermodal transport. Even and especially in a time of global crisis such as that brought about by Covid-19.

Intermodal transportation has proved to be very useful during periods of restrictions, as it enabled increasingly large numbers of goods and food liquids to be moved in large quantities, over long distances, using a limited number of staff who could easily be monitored from a health perspective. By rail for long distances, on the road for the final stretch, but always with systems and human resources that are easy to control, track and regulate. “We believed in this mode of transport from the very beginning, also through considerable investments”, concluded Rubino, “to better manage services, protect product quality and reduce the impact of our activity from an environmental point of view. To be more sustainable in all respects”.

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