May 9 - The relocation of an entire paper processing plant from the UK to Bangladesh gave heavy lift specialist Allseas Global Logistics the opportunity to demonstrate its experience and expertise in handling this type of complex project.

Allseas was contracted by Synergy Cargo Services Europe Pty Ltd to move the Bridgewater factory to Chittagong, where it will be reassembled and refurbished for operation by MAF Paper Mills .

The relocation required the shipment of pieces up to 5.8 metres wide; the consignment included a series of massive tanks and drums as well as 132 high-cube containers, 40 x 40-foot flatracks and several open-top 20-foot containers.

The size of the largest pieces meant a road journey of any distance was not an option for the largest pieces, so these were shipped out of Ellesmere Port (near to the factory location) by feeder to Antwerp, for loading on the SCI Chennai .

The project, managed by Synergy managing director Sanjoy Das , Synergy director Amit Ahuja , and Allseas Global Logistics commercial manager Mark Binge , began in November 2010 and is now nearing completion.

The factory - technically called a de-inking plant - will be refurbished in Chittagong and is expected to be 100 percent operational in the next nine to 12 months, producing pulp.

Factory relocations represent a major area of business for Allseas, which has developed a strong reputation and expertise in such work. "We have been extremely busy handling factory relocations in recent years," said Mark Binge. "Ten years ago these were mainly moves to China as the final destination - but the markets are now much more varied."

Last year Allseas was appointed by Pilkington to handle the relocation of a glass factory from Birmingham in the UK to Santos in Brazil.

Synergy, a rapidly growing global logistics company with bases in Dubai, India, Colombo and London, has recently handled major project cargoes out of Wales and Germany, amongst others.

Topics