Safety and efficiency concerning containers

It is no longer possible to imagine the chemical and chemical-related industry without the international standardized container: The mobile 20’ und 40’ tank and box containers are suitable for transporting the majority of goods and can also safely hold many hazardous materials so that they are essential with transports of hazardous goods. Therefore the container business is also an important factor in logistics even in difficult economic times. In order to be able to offer its customers efficient processes all concerning the container at the location Chemion has expanded its warehouse and transshipment capacities in the last few years and with around 1,800 TEU is among the Top 10 of the German terminal operators.

Infrastructure for the customer business

In view of the major importance of container transport for the business of the companies in the chemical and chemical-related industry, Chemion has invested in modern infrastructure, container equipment and innovative technology in the last few years – the pre-requisite for the fact that sufficient capacities are available and the container processes such as e.g. transshipment and storage in the vicinity of the location can operate efficiently and safe. The warehouses of Chemion include two bimodal hazardous good terminals in Leverkusen and Dormagen, Germany, which are among the few warehouses along the Rhine route to have a full license according to the German Federal Pollution Control Act (BImSchG) and therefore are entitled to store containers with hazardous substances for more than 24 hours. The trimodal container warehouse at Leverkusen port offers additional possibilities with the container transshipment: Besides road and rail the water route with direct connection to the ports in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp can also be flexibly integrated into the transport chain. A fourth warehouse completes the container infrastructure of Chemion, which in total offers more than 25,000 square meters of storage and transshipment area: In 2006 the logistics service provider put a terminal into operation which was especially designed for the storage of empty containers, in which empty cleaned and uncleaned containers can also be stored for a longer term.

RFID for efficiency and safety

It is the central task of the empty container terminal to relieve the burden on the other container plants so that their whole capacities are available for transshipment and storage of full containers with hazardous substances. An IT-based warehouse management and an automatic location identification which support the to-bin transfer and from-bin transfer processes ensure efficiency in this warehouse. Moreover the warehouse was fitted with RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, which was specially developed for the requirements of the plant. Mix-ups of the containers are definitely excluded through this and the complex container flows are further optimized. As a manual maintenance of to-bin and from-bin transfer lists is superfluous and the flows in the terminal are flexibilized with regard to choice of location and order of the to-bin and from-bin transfers. The customers of the logistics service provider also profit from this optimization and the specialization of the terminal in empty containers, for which less safety requirements exist with the storage: They receive more favorable conditions for the storage of empty containers.

Central control for smooth flows

A sophisticated interface management is necessary in order for all single services concerning the container terminals to interact without any problems and the flows at the locations run as efficiently as possible. This is carried out in the central container control center (CLS) which is the link between production plants, transport headquarters, service stations and the container warehouses. Each to-bin and from-bin transfer is scheduled here, each storage location is registered and all service processes are coordinated. The individual flows, which are necessary for transporting the containers to the loading point of the customer or for the further transport by truck or rail wagon, are also controlled via the central IT system in the control center. If a customer requests a container from the control center then this will create a provision order for the warehouse and the container will be made available for pick-up there immediately. The same procedure is applied if a tank is to be transported to the washing station or to the filling station of a customer for filling or emptying. The consequence: The timing of the headquarters to the exact minute avoids friction losses, ensures an optimally exploited plant and streamlined processes - and this in the end saves money.