trailer world issue Three 2009

Rubrik Altogether Cartrans has a fleet of 38 vehicles. Together with the six closed trailers, the company has a further 32 car transporter vehicles with conventional open superstructures, with scheduling organised by three dispatchers. Once the winter season has come has come close, they turn their attention to a completely different kind of business. During the spring and summer, Cartrans operates mostly for the ADAC, collecting stranded vehicles belonging to the motoring organisation‘s members who have suffered a breakdown during a business trip or while on holiday. These tasks also demand a special approach. To make sure they stay within budget, the dispatchers have to organise round trips that often last ten to twelve days. „The ADAC dictates the times and periods in which we have to bring the cars back to Germany from Scandinavia, the Benelux countries, the United Kingdom and France“, says Hirth. The drivers are sent on their way as soon as one or two orders have been received for a specific destination. Over the next few days, additions are then constantly made to the initial itinerary – a method that demands a highly sensitive approach. (mw) 27% of the transports are operated with Gefco’s own railway wagons. Cartrans uses six special closed trailers. going port for German exports, the Gefco trucks not only bring the Citroen and Peugeot cars arriving here to destinations in Germany itself but also return with a load of cars of other makes produced in Germany and intended for export. „These are profitable transport solutions which we try to im- plement on the broadest possi- ble basis“, underlines Antoine Redier. The fleet available for this purpose consists of 300 of the company‘s own car transporters with permanently employed drivers, and 540 transporters operated by subcontractors. In additi- on, Gefco also uses the car transportation capacities made available to the market by other companies who operate for Gefco from time to time or occasionally, as the need arises. „This is how we optimise transportation schedules throughout Europe. The problem is that car transporters can only be used for this one specific purpose so that they have to be utilised to capacity as far as possible.“ Two different kinds of car transporters are used. One version has loading ramps that stay horizontal during the journey. They are loaded and unloa- ded quickly and therefore used primarily for short transport journeys for example between the distribution centres and the dealerships, or for returning hire cars and used vehicles. However, as a rule they can only take up to eight cars. Long journeys right across Europe are served by other transporters that have several short loading ramps so that the cars are each set at a different angle in order to make op- timum use of the available space. This naturally takes longer to load and unload the cars, but it is definitely worthwhile for longer jour- neys as they can carry up to eleven cars in this way. (rkl) »Car transport capacities have to be utilised to the full as far as possible.« »Round trips that demand a highly sen- sitive approach.“« Info More information about GEFCO can be found online at www.gefco.fr Info The forwarder ‘cartrans gmbh’ can be found on the internet at www.cartrans.de Oliver Hirth, Managing director at Cartrans »We operate as a kind of sea- sonal business« Issue Three 2009 19

trailer world issue Three 2009

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