China – India – Japan – Pakistan.
Invariably, there is always “the one that got away”. With one large consignment to Peshawar in Pakistan, we knew that the final leg from Karachi would cause the greatest problems. It wasn’t until we completed a feasibility study that we realised the magnitude of the task. Essentially the only option was dismantle the cargo on arrival Karachi, transport to site Peshawar and then reassemble. Once all the costs had been taken into account, particularly flying engineers from the UK to dismantle/reassemble, it soon became apparent that the economics didn’t stack up – with the project eventually being shelved.
Further south, in India – with the final destination being the British Sugar plant at Wissington, near Kings Lynn – the cargo originated in Pune, some 150 kilometres inland from the nearest port, Mumbai. Despite the oversize/overweight element, the lack of suitable equipment and the poor road conditions – this was negotiated without difficulty. The real problem was a low bridge on the final approach to Wissington – a factor that was taken into account at the concept stage.
The presses for the Nissan plant at Sunderland originate in Japan, with the stowage plan on shipment being just one of the factors taken into consideration, as part of the planning process – with nothing being left to chance.
