Project Services

Project Services, a separate division of Safcor Panalpina, specialises in the transportation of large, unusual or abnormal consignments by sea, air, rail or road and which require specialist knowledge and handling.

The prime function of the projects division is to plan, co-ordinate and execute delivery of project cargo from the point of origin to final destination.

The nature of such business demands a high degree of expertise, total involvement and the highest standard of ethical conduct. The movement of abnormal cargo invariably involves very careful attention to detail and often an enormous amount of preparatory work, including route surveys, freight negotiations, customs duty verification, staged consignment authority and the determination of port facilities.

In short, our projects division is able to plan, organise and control the movement of such cargo on a turnkey basis.

Our most recent project

The movement of a 168 ton cold box from Ellesmere in the UK to its final destination in Newcastle was the culmination of months of planning and preparation by Safcor Panalpina's Projects Department, says Sandro Godinho, Projects Manager.

The unit measures 54.7m in length, 5.5m in width and 4.4m in height and is part of a project for Air Products South Africa to bring in equipment for the upgrade of its plant in Newcastle. A lot of equipment has been brought in using airfreight, LCL, FCL and break bulk modes.

Meticulous planning and paperwork were required in order to ensure the timeous departure, arrival, discharge and transportation to site in Newcastle. Various route surveys were undertaken involving negotiations with vessel charter companies.

The cold box arrived in Richards Bay aboard the vessel "Pantanal", after which our office in Richards Bay pulled out all stops to ensure its safe discharge and movement. This was merely the start of an epic journey of two weeks. The convoy could not travel on weekends due to the size and daily transit was limited to the times allowed by provincial traffic police, who were required to accompany it at all times during its 493 km journey. The convoy could only travel at 20km/h on the open road and at 10km/h in towns and cities! Through careful, advanced planning, Safcor Panalpina ensured there was limited risk and exposure.