Pest-free car exports to Oceania

Seaports

Marvin Meyke, 12.12.2018, 13:29

Pest-free car exports to Oceania

Unikai Lagerei- und Speditionsgesellschaft mbH, a subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), has developed a solution to prepare vehicles for pest-free export to Australia and New Zealand. This involves converting 40-foot reefer boxes into heating containers.

40-foot refrigerated containers converted into heating containers are used for pest-free export to Oceania. © HHLA / Dominik Reipka

Stricter import regulations
Concerned about possible damage to agriculture caused by the stink bug, countries such as Australia and New Zealand want to prevent the import of the insect. After the insect was found north of the Alps for the first time this year, the oceanic countries immediately tightened their import regulations. Since September, export goods from Germany destined for Australia and New Zealand must therefore be specially prepared, either fumigated or heat-treated.

Refrigerated containers as heating containers
The technicians at Unikai came up with the idea of converting conventional refrigerated containers into heating containers. The reefer boxes have suitable dimensions for cars, are generally well insulated and promote air circulation. Unikai currently has 28 40-foot heating containers on its premises. Between 1,500 and 2,000 vehicles are processed with the heating system before each loading. "In the first season, we prepared around 16,000 cars for our Oceania customers for export in Hamburg in this way," says Unikai Managing Director Hartmut Wolberg. The system, which has also been registered with the patent office, has already met with great interest. Vehicle exporters and other logistics service providers have become aware of the technology.

Back to topic page

You might also be interested in

Merger

Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd agree on joint operational cooperation

Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk have signed an agreement for a new, long-term operational cooperation called "Gemini Cooperation", which will start in February 2025. The aim is to create a flexible and interconnected service network in maritime...

Project logistics

Successful 2023 - subdued prospects for 2024 in Bremen

As part of the 11th Project Logistics Forum, BHV-Bremische Hafen- und Logistikvertretung presented the initial results of its survey for the current "BHV Project Logistics Monitor".

Port management

New rail transshipment facility in Bremen

Rhenus Weserport Bremen is building a fully automated new rail transshipment facility for loading aluminum hydroxide and aluminum oxide at Terminal 4 of Bremen's industrial port.

Intermodal transport

Rising demand for nearshoring

The trend towards nearshoring is continuing even after the coronavirus pandemic, according to Munich-based international freight forwarder Robert Kukla. The intermodal service provider is seeing continued growth in transport from Turkey and the...

Food logistics

Doubled storage space in Allermöhe

Nagel-Group is launching an extensive expansion and modernization project at its Hamburg site. Germany's largest food logistics company will completely restructure the site in the Allermöhe industrial estate.

Maritime economy

Port of Hamburg handles 58.2 million tons

Both the tense economic situation in Europe, and in Germany in particular, and the geopolitical conditions continue to have an impact on handling in the Port of Hamburg.

Seaports

Port of Hamburg suffers from loss of Russian business

The difficult economic development of the global economy is affecting the handling figures of the Port of Hamburg. As in other ports in Northern Europe, seaborne cargo throughput in Hamburg is declining, although individual trade lanes are...

Logistics center

Green logistics facility for Mercedes-Benz

The largest photovoltaic system on an industrial building in Germany to date is the hallmark of the new "C3 Bremen" logistics center in the Freight Village of the Free Hanseatic City.