Service to Russia completes coverage of Europe
At the end of May, Transuniverse Forwarding sent its first truck off to Russia. From now on, the Wondelgem-based shipping and logistics group covers the entire European continent.
“We had a lot of customers asking if we could ship their goods to Russia. We thoroughly investigated everything to do with serving Russia, from customs procedures and conditions of payment to the logistic processes. The conclusion was that Russia is a market that we could certainly take on”, Bram Van Der Cruyssen, traffic operator Eastern Europe at Transuniverse Forwarding, tells us.
“Russia was the last country on the continent that we did not ship to. So this completes our coverage of Europe”, adds operations manager Kevin Van Ongeval. “What is more, it was good timing. The Russian economy has taken a dip, but it is on the up again, although we still need to take account of the impact of trade sanctions on certain goods.”
Two routes
At the end of May, the very first truck left Wondelgem with a consolidated freight.
“We currently prioritise two routes and three destinations. We drive via Smolensk to serve Moscow and Skolkovo, the Russian ‘Silicon Valley’ nearby, where the electronics giant Intel also has an important base. We also serve St. Petersburg via Vilnius in Lithuania. We use specialised transporters on both routes, and we have an official partnership on the Russian side with a shipping group in Moscow. The lion’s share of our shipments is currently destined for the capital.”
Development phase
The service is not yet offered at fixed intervals. “We are in the start-up phase and we are still building up cargo volumes. But we do have the opportunity to load up daily in Belgium and can also deal with ADR goods and temperature-controlled consignments as well as conventional freight, in part loads and full loads. We do all our transportation under the TIR system.”
Some shippers, including a few big names, are already using the new line. They entrust Transuniverse Forwarding with ‘high end’ products as well as ‘middle end’ goods.
