Global news in brief

French logistics provider Groupe CAT has officially opened a new storage compound at its centre at Lorraine in the in Saint-Ail region with an event attended by the company’s CEO Alejandro Forbes. 

The new site is the first to be 100% owned by the group. Eleven more hectares have been added to the storage areas already held by the Renault factory in nearby Batilly and the new compound (which is already being used for several customers) has an overall storage capacity of 4,300 spaces.

 

The facility’s location provides a strategic location for vehicle flows arriving from the East and enables Groupe CAT to offer optimised solutions for the vehicle flows throughout the continent.

 In 2009, Groupe CAT delivered in excess of 2.1m new cars and approximately 30m spare parts and automotive components.

Logistics considerations are playing a significant part in Renault-Nissan’s considerations for a new plant in the Far East region of Russia, which may be built in the Primyore Territory on the border of China and North Korea. The vicinity to Japan would mean delivery of materials by sea in a quick and cost-effective manner for the Alliance.

 

The Alliance is also considering the launch of production at the IZH-Avto plant in Izhevsk. The plans are designed to achieve a 40% market share for Renault-Nissan in Russia by providing additional production capacity.

 

Nissan recently announced it would purchase 10% of shares in Russian carmaker Avtovaz, on top of the Alliance’s 25% stake in the company. A common organisation named Avtovaz Renault-Nissan Quality and Supplier Development (ARNQSD) has been formed to increase the percentage of locally sourced parts for the three partners.

 

The 2011 MAN everywoman in Transport & Logistics Awards competition is open for entries from 1 December 2010. It is the fourth year the awards have been held and once again this year the competition will seek to identify women who are positive role models in the transport and logistics industry, which the organisers hope will demonstrate the breadth of career opportunities available in the sector.

 

The Awards are held in association with Skills for Logistics, the Sector Skills Council for the UK's freight logistics industries, and sponsored by MAN Truck & Bus UK, a subsidiary of commercial vehicle maker MAN Nutzfahrzeuge.

 

The Awards categories include those responsible for managing warehouses, those starting out in the industry, commercial drivers, directors and women leading successful teams. Once again this year there is also an award in recognition of that candidate who “stands out from the crowd in her achievements and ability to go that extra mile in her role”.

 

In addition, this year the programme will include new category: the Green Champion Award, which will be given to the individual who has addressed and reduced the impacts of an operation on the environment and/or engaged employees in a Green agenda.

 

Previous category winners from companies involved in automotive logistics include last year’s Warehousing Award winner Lucy Parker - Operations Manager, DHL Supply Chain

 

Maxine Benson, co-founder and director of everywoman, said: “We’ve made strides to identify the positive female role models within the industry, however, it’s apparent that it remains a non-traditional sector for women, with many females not realising the wealth of career opportunities available. We look forward to continuing to help re-address the balance with this year’s finalists.”

 

Nominations will close on Friday 11 February 2011 and entries can be made online from 1 December at www.everywoman.com.

 

An awards ceremony and lunch will be held at The Savoy Hotel in London on May 4 2011.

 

 

The Federal Association of German Seaport Operators (ZDS) elected the chairman of the executive board of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), Klaus-Dieter Peters, as the new president. He follows a seven-year tenure held by BLG’s CEO Detthold Aden.

 

At his last press conference as president of the ZDS, Aden took stock of the seaports’ most recent development: “Handling at the German seaports is booming again, and quicker than expected. In 2009, the total handling at our ports had declined by 18% to 261m tonnes due to the global crisis. During the crisis, the ZDS lobbied to strengthen the competitiveness of the German port industry and the German economy as a whole through supportive federal government measures.”

 

Not all the ZDS’ suggestions were supported by the federal government because the underlying macroeconomic data and development at German seaports has improved in the meantime.

 

Aden’s company, BLG, moves finished vehicles through the port of Bremerhaven in Germany with the total projected number for 2010 at 1.5m vehicles.