At the end of 2025, our Logistics department launched, together with the new Solutions division, a project in cooperation with the social enterprise Ryhove. For a major fashion manufacturer, boxes are being transferred from ISO sea containers into 45’ land containers. The tight planning and limited time slots make this operation a logistical challenge that requires meticulous organisation.
“The service for this fashion company is offered as a complete package in partnership with our Turkish partner Talay Logistics. When the containers loaded with semi-finished products arrive from China in Antwerp, they are collected and transported to Wondelgem. There, their content is transferred ‘one-to-one’ into 45-foot land containers, which are then sent to Germany to be transported by train to Turkey. The products are finished there,” explains warehouse manager Christophe Malfait.
Complex flow
“Because of the strict schedule, this flow is more complex than one might think,” adds logistics warehouse supervisor Hamza Daoudi. “The Ryhove team must be ready as soon as the sea container arrives. It is positioned at the quay next to the quay where a 45-foot container is waiting. The team consists of five people: two place the boxes on pallets, one moves the pallets to the other container, where two others restack the boxes. Each container contains between 300 and 900 boxes. On average, the entire operation takes between one and one and a half hours.”
This work takes place two days a week, at a rate of around ten containers per day (and up to fifteen during peak periods). “It’s quite intense, and for the safety of Ryhove’s employees, the entire zone is closed off. This also reduces stimuli for the workers and helps them concentrate better,” he adds.
“Planning and timing are crucial. That’s why a buffer stock of empty 45-foot containers is kept at a nearby partner. Talay ensures the supply of empty containers and the removal of the full ones. From a customs perspective, the entire operation is also quite complex, but Transuniverse’s experienced Customs team has handled all formalities smoothly,” he says.
Excellent cooperation with Ryhove
“The employees of Ryhove are doing an excellent job. Transuniverse had already been working with the ‘green maintenance’ service of this social enterprise, and that’s how we came up with the idea of collaborating with them for container transshipment,” Christophe explains.
Ryhove, based in Ghent, employs around 440 people in various fields such as packaging and labelling, assembly, manual finishing, green maintenance, and on-site work for clients. These are people who have difficulty accessing the regular labour market, for example because they have a disability, have been unemployed for a long time, or require adapted working conditions.
“By working with Ryhove, Transuniverse wants to contribute to society. What’s great is that their employees feel at home here and enjoy working with us. That’s why we are now ready to start similar activities for other customers,” Christophe concludes.
