Global logistics service provider Van den Bosch has expanded its fleet with the purchase of 500 additional ISO tank containers.
The addition of the 20ft containers would help the company respond to growing demand from the African market for the deep-sea transport of food products, Van den Bosch said on 27 January.
Van den Bosch runs its deep-sea activities from its branch in Dubai with a focus on the African market involving shipping liquid food products - such as olive and sunflower oil, ethanol, glucose and whisky - in ISO tank containers.
“We have been active in Africa since 2014, with a particular focus on developments in the continent,” Mark Ashton, commercial director of Van den Bosch in Dubai said.
“Over the years, we have grown with the increasing demand for bulk transport. The purchase of these 500 additional containers reflects that and will support our growth model within Africa.”
While much of Africa still operates in the traditional way, shipping products in small packages or flexitanks, Van den Bosch said its focus was on setting up and redirecting traditional transport flows to bulk transport.
“ISO tank containers offer an efficient, reliable and sustainable alternative,” Ashton said. “Through our current operations in countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, we’ve noticed the need for such a sustainable transport solution.”
Investment in the region offered the company opportunities to develop further in the African market, Ashton added.
“This includes countries such as Cameroon, Senegal, Togo and even Sierra Leone. The focus is now on establishing a reliable and available supply of ISO tank containers in these countries. That is the key to sustainable change.”
In addition to the purchase of 200 tank containers, the company said it was investing further in the African market with the construction of a new tank cleaning station in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
“For bulk transport to take place, ISO tanks must be available that comply with the proper cleaning requirements. The new cleaning station will be built in full compliance with European quality standards for food, Kosher and Halal cleaning,” Ashton said.
The cleaning station was due to open in the second quarter of this year, the company said, and followed the opening of similar facilities in Ghana in 2016.
Van den Bosch specialises in the transport of liquid and dry bulk products for the food and chemical industries and has 12 offices in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The company is headquartered in Erp, the Netherlands.
