After revolutionizing India’s steel buildings manufacturing market with the introduction of Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings (PEB), Kirby Building Systems sets its eyes on furthering the industry as it expands toward a third India-based facility in Gujarat. The global steel building powerhouse, part of Kuwait’s Alghanim Industries, one of the largest privately owned companies in the Middle East, broke ground on its new 114,000 m2 facility, with operations commencing by October 2022. Kirby India already operates in Hyderabad and Haridwar with an extensive PEB manufacturing capacity that supplies to the Indian market. With the new Gujarat facility soon to be added to Kirby’s arsenal, the company aims to revitalize the local economy with hundreds of new jobs, as well as plans to double the employment capacity in near future. Alongside this economic stimulus, Kirby India’s manufacturing will boast a higher metric tonnage (MT) among its trio of facilities, rising from 200,000 MT to 300,000 MT per year. “We are proud to announce a third addition to our Kirby India fleet in Gujarat,” said D Raju, MD – Kirby India and Head of Kirby International. He also expressed his gratitude to the authorities of Gujarat, adding “Our expansion in Western India reflects our commitment to maintain our innovative spirit in the PEB industry, while ensuring we meet the needs of our customers and energize our immediate economy with jobs and services alike.”

Emphasising on the need of the multi modal trasnportation in order to be more efficient,Yuvraj Sharma, Cluster Head, Sales and Marketing, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Kuhene+Nagel, said, “Today’s enviornment does not just demand to get into a multi modal option for servicing our customer but, it is the need since we have capacity issues, congestions happening, time definite deliveries. All of this require multi modal as a cost effective and time efficient mode of moving goods from one place to another. From logistics performance index point of view, India is today ranked at 44. Multi modal is definitely one way that can not only help in avoiding the challenges we face in today’s time we are working in and improve from the transit point perspective also. And see India becoming a leader not only in the export supply chain but also in the import supply chain.”

Explaining on how the country’s economy will be benefitted with the multi modal way of transportation, Chander Agarwal, MD, TCI Express said, “India is on the cusp of becoming a $5 trillion economy meaning that the logistics cost is going to be $1 trillion approximately. This is a great opportunity for the logistics companies to enhance their capabilities and become leading service providers in the country. Multi modal will benefit the Indian economy in a big way because of a vast coastline and land area. Multi modal may help in bringing down the cost for the logistics sector, moreover, the overall efficiency and the transfer of goods from manufacturer to consumer will be at a much faster pace.”

Showing way forward on multi modal transportation of logistics, Xerrxes Master, President, AMTOI, said, “Multi Modal is the only optimal logistic solution where the best mode of transport is chosen with the most cost effective and time efficient manner. Finally, the Indian government has recognized the importance of multi modalism by renewing the old Multi Modal Transportation of Goods Act 1993. AMTOI has been actively involved with the Government in policy formulation, also to become a self regulating organisation for the benefit of it’s members. Multi modalism is carried out by all the three modes of transportation where a contract can be executed by different modes of transport under one single document which is the essence and the basis of multi modalism.”

CargoTalk’s virtual conclave on Multi Modal Logistics was a big success. With a lot insightful information from our expert speakers, the discussion on the said topic were informative as to how multi modal logistics is revolutionising the supply chain by transporting the logistics faster and more efficiently. With the focus on Multi Modal in the new normal world, the summit also discussed the significant role played by it in the transportation of logistics globally. Also how technology is supporting the movement of logistics in a more efficient manner. The industries across have well adopted to the changing dynamics of different modes of transportation in the supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations. Esteemed speakers included Xerrxex Master, President, AMTOI, Chander Agarwal, Managing Director, TCI EXPRESS Ltd. and Yuvraj Sharma, Cluster Head Sales and Marketing, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Kuhene+Nagel.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) adds a new ‘quote and book’ function to IATA Net rates and IAG Cargo, the cargo division of International Airlines Group (IAG), becomes the first carrier to integrate the feature. This will enable airlines to offer freight forwarders dynamic pricing for booking their shipments. “The pandemic has accelerated the appetite for digitalization across the air cargo industry. IATA Net Rates new ‘quote and book’ function simplifies and accelerates the rate distribution and booking process between airlines and freight forwarders, saving valuable time by eliminating manual, labour-intensive processes. We are pleased to expand our Net Rates partnership with IAG Cargo to support their efficient cargo rates distribution and booking capabilities, across the different airlines of the group,” said Frederic Leger, Interim Senior Vice President for Commercial Products and Services, IATA, & President, CNS. The Net Rates platform can be accessed through Net Rates online or integrated with customer systems, accelerating the distribution of rates to market while simplifying and reducing the cost of rate handling procedures.

The UAE-based port operator, DP World has opened a new empty container park of 46,539 m² at Southampton to extend storage capacity amid the peak pre-Christmas season. The new facility will be able to hold additional empty containers to strengthen resilience for customers and keep supply chains moving when dwell times at terminals across the United Kingdom (UK) have increased. Furthermore, the new empty park of US$4 million (£3 million) is part of DP World’s ongoing US$54.3 million (£40 million) investment this year at Britain’s second-largest container terminal. “We now have 25% more storage capacity at Southampton than before which will enable us to maintain productivity and service levels for the vital next few months and beyond,” noted UK Chief Executive of DP World, Ernst Schulze, who went on to add that volumes can now be switched quickly and easily between locations, giving customers more control over their supply chains and increasing security of supply for critical goods coming into the UK.

Turkish Cargo, one of the strongest cargo flight networks, contributes its strength to Turkey’s medical exports. Flag carrier air cargo brand has been carrying Turkey’s medicine and medical products to over 50 countries in five continents for over 25 years. In the nuclear medicine sector, Turkish Cargo plays an important role for cancer patients transporting high quality diagnosis and treatment products in Turkey and abroad. Flag carrier air cargo brand carries radioactive cancer diagnosis medicine used in the treatment of cancer and tumors to Germany, Colombia, India, Algeria, Taiwan and all around the world. With 8 percent market share in medical transportation, national brand gives hope to cancer patients by providing fast and safe transportation for radioactive medicine with half-life, which are produced at night by Eczacibasi-Monrol.

CargoTalk is organising a digital conclave today from 11.00-12.00 pm. The virtual conclave is about Multi Modal Logistics and how it is revolutionising the supply chain by transporting the logistics faster and more efficiently. The conclave will have eminent speakers from across the industry. With the focus on Multi Modal in the new normal world, the summit will discuss the significant role played by it in the transportation of logistics globally. The industries across have well adopted to the changing dynamics of different modes of transportation in the supply-chain interactions and of their internal operations. Esteemed speakers will include Xerrxex Master, President, AMTOI, Chander Agarwal, Managing Director, TCI EXPRESS Ltd. and Yuvraj Sharma, Cluster Head Sales and Marketing, India, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Kuhene+Nagel. For further details please contact Jaspreet Kaur: +91-9650196532, jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com

Freighter operator Pacific Air Cargo has introduced a new airfreight tracking and notification service, PACTRAK. The tracking service is integrated into the company’s website and allows customers to know the status of their shipment at any point in its journey. The system offers shipment update notifications through SMS text messages, emails, or both. Notifications can also be tailored for different milestones during the journey, such as flight departure or arrival. “We are pleased to offer this innovative and state-of-the-art tracking service to our partners,” said Tanja Janfruechte, Chief Executive of Pacific Air Cargo. “We believe that PACTRAK will make shipping with Pacific Air Cargo even more convenient, and we look forward to introducing other enhancements and useful tools in the future.”