The Global Project Logistics Network (GPLN), the world’s largest network of independent international project logistics specialists and charterers has now turned five years old.

“Our group has lots of milestones to be proud of,” said Gary Dale Cearley, Executive Director of GPLN, “We have grown from only ten members in our first year to being the largest projects logistics specialist network in the world.  We should be around 200 member offices near the end of this year.  And that is no mean feat.”

Cearley puts the growth down to GPLN’s commitment to promoting the group globally.

“From the beginning our focus has been global,” continued Cearley, “We have members on every continent, in every region of the world and in every major projects port.  We have been very focused in this aspect.  We attend shipping and maritime trade shows about ten times per year.  No other group does that.  And we promote only within the range of project forwarding and chartering – no LCL specialists and no airfreight forwarders on our roll.  Only real and verifiable project logistics specialists.  In the end this sets us apart and ahead of the pack.”

GPLN has also been keeping it global when it comes to their annual meetings.  “We have had meetings in the past in Dublin, Bangkok, Dubai, Prague, Kuala Lumpur, Tunis and next we will be in Rio de Janeiro,” said Luzius Haffter, GPLN’s new Commercial Director, “And this next meeting will be even bigger than before.  We are working hard on it already.”

The fact that the Global Project Logistics Network’s prestige has grown can be reflected in the corporate sponsors that they have been able to attract such as Beluga Shipping and Rickmers-Linie.

GPLN has been recording its history through photos on the GPLN website as well.  “We are constantly trawling our members for photos of their moves so we can get these out to everyone,” said Gary Dale Cearley, “This is one of the best ways we have been able to promote our specialties within the group and to the various industries that are served by project forwarders and project charterers.  Our members have lots that they can be proud of over the years and I want to make sure that the entire world knows.”

The Global Projects Logistics Network (GPLN) is the premier non-exclusive professional projects logistics network of independent companies specializing in international projects movements by air, sea and land as well as specialized lifts and the special handling of oversized, out-of-gauge and heavy lift cargo.

International freight and logistics expert Cory Brothers says it is looking forward optimistically to the future as it opens bespoke new U.K. offices to accommodate the company’s growth.

Cory House, in Haven Exchange, Felixstowe, was officially opened by the Rt Hon John Gummer MP for Suffolk Coastal, in front of invited guests, including the Mayor and Mayoress of Felixstowe, and industry leaders, including Alan Marsh, chief executive officer of the Braemar Shipping Services Group – of which Cory Brothers is part – and Cory Brothers Chairman and Braemar Shipping Services Director Quentin Soanes.

John van Bergen, Managing Director of Cory Brothers’ Freight Forwarding and Logistics Division, said: “We are delighted to be opening this new facility which will enable us to provide an even better service for our customers.

“This development emphasizes the investments we are making in our products to ensure our customers receive superior support and care in these most demanding of times.”  Cory Brothers provides a wide range of port, hub, liner, cruise and forwarding services from its bases throughout the U.K. and internationally, including from its new South-East Asia hub in Singapore.

The company, which can trace its history back to 1842 where it began as Richard Cory & Sons in the Cardiff Docks, says the new 15,000 square-foot Felixstowe office is a result of recent organic growth and the purchase of Freight Action at the end of last year, and demonstrates the company’s commitment to its strategy of further expansion.  Alan Marsh, Chief Executive of Braemar Shipping Services plc, said: “We are pleased that Cory Brothers continues to go from strength to strength. Cory Brothers represents an important component within the group, which has developed marine services business divisions in parallel to shipbroking and these divisions now represent a growing percentage of the group’s profitability.”

Cory also developed ShipTrak, an Internet-based application for monitoring vessel movements.

Titan Logistics recently completed a couple of heavy-duty jobs in Singapore, covering both infrastructure and leisure projects.

The first was the lifting of the luxury boat Braveheart at Jurong Port. Carried out for Coli Shipping & Transport Group, the job entailed lifting the 430-ton 40-meter-long Braveheart from the transport vessel Lena. The rigging, weighing 84 tons, had to be taken into account because of the boat’s soft hull.

A 1600-ton Sheerleg Crane Barge was used to discharge the boat from the vessel. The smaller crane barges could not perform the job due to their limited hook-height. Titan personnel were involved in planning, rigging design and execution of the job together with the technical department of SAL Shipping, the captain and superintendent of the vessel, Coli Shipping. Boat was discharged safely from the vessel to the waters off Jurong Port, Singapore.

The second job was the transportation of a rail-grinding vehicle for Singapore Mass Rapid Transport (SMRT) for the island’s MRT network.  The rail-grinding vehicle consisted of a three-car configuration, with the heaviest car at 45 tons. The units were transported from the port of Singapore to the MRT Depot at Kim Chuan, and later relocated to Bishan Depot.

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) has signed a three-year warehousing and distribution service agreement for eastern and central Saudi Arabia with Alcatel Lucent. The contract requires 5500 square meters of open and closed storage with distribution of materials for mobile telecommunications signal relay stations across eastern Saudi Arabia.  This entails storage and distribution of out-of-gauge masts plus the delicate handling of sensitive and high-value electric housing units and associated components. WSS Saudi won this contract against leading international and domestic service providers based on us being able to provide a flexible and highly responsive service offering covering all areas of the storage and distribution cycle.

WSS has been trading in Saudi Arabia for over 30 years. Wilhelmsen Ships Service is involved in a number of ongoing major infrastructure projects such as a cement plant relocation to Rabigh, Manifa causeway construction, as well as the commercially vital Ras Al Zour port construction.

Transportas has played a key part in StatOil Hydro’s environmentally pioneering Hywind project. Hywind is the world’s first full-scale floating wind turbine, which will float on seas of depths between  be

placed at ocean depths of between 120 and 700 meters. The floating structure consists of a steel jacket filled with ballast.

This floating element will extend 100 meters beneath the surface and will be fastened to the seabed by three anchor piles. The mooring equipment, crucial to the safe continued operation of the project, is

extremely heavy, and Transportas was involved in shipping bundles of chains from China to Norway, anchors from the Nertherlands, and reels from Italy.