Anyone who’s ever received services knows that a small personal touch goes a long way. That’s especially true in oversized logistics, where no two projects are identical. Customers of the AsstrA-Associated Traffic AG international corporate group therefore receive solutions based on their unique needs as their businesses develop. Every year, AsstrA experts establish new routes that meet the needs of customers from a wide variety of industries.
For example, a transcontinental oversized project involved the transportation of agricultural machinery from Paraguay to South Africa.
According to our key customer’s requirements, AsstrA experts organized the delivery of grain and forage harvesters. The overall dimensions of the equipment exceeded 10 meters. The total weight was over 25 tons.
The project needed to be executed thousands of kilometers away with operations coordinated 24/7. It also involved a number of other unique considerations as described by Elena Monchenko, a Sea Freight Transportation Group Specialist within the AsstrA Operations Department:
“The first challenge encountered was the execution of export documents. The Paraguayan sender did not have permission to undertake foreign economic activity. We quickly managed to resolve the issue with the help of our reliable Paraguayan agents. Our partners helped register the sender with the Paraguayan Ministry of Economy and Trade.”
The project’s next challenge involved a lack of equipment in Paraguay’s main port. To send the cargo from Villet, the river port of departure, across the ocean, special equipment was required. In order to honor the deadlines agreed with our client, the AsstrA team ordered equipment from the Paraguayan port of Kaakupe.
Another surprise was a forced stop during the project. On the way to the port of Durban, South Africa, the ship was delayed in the port of Paranagua. Brazil.
"There were cyclones and typhoons along the route. The captain of the ship decided to stop. The AsstrA team quickly contacted Brazilian agents who installed additional cargo fasteners. After that, the cargo safely reached the South African coast,” says Elena Monchenko.
According to Ilya Klimentenok, Head of AsstrA Transport Manufacturing Logistics, for AsstrA no routes are impassable and no loads too heavy.
“The team builds solutions around the needs of customers to ensure that they always receive the right services. With no exceptions – we get the job done no matter how impressive the cargo’s size or how exotic its route.
“Experts are ready for challenges and offer customers a number of additional services. Excise customs, route inspections, surveys, inspections of loading and unloading of oversized cargo with photo reports, driving trains / locomotives / wagons on their own along railway tracks, sameday and overnight emergency delivery of aviation spare parts – these are some of the services that are available to AsstrA clients.
“We are developing and expanding our competencies so that customers receive the services they need. In an age of rapid technological advances, you need to run as fast as you can just to stay in place. And to get somewhere, you must run at least twice as fast,” summarizes Ilya Klimentenok.
