Gerard van Heugten en Ben Engelen, Rockwool

Rockwool strengthens grip on export cargo

Multinational Rockwool's biggest stone wool factory is located in Roermond, in the southeastern Netherlands. The stone and mineral wool manufactured here is destined primarily for the Benelux, but some products - particularly specialty products - are also exported overseas. The company expects that the ECS services offered by Portbase's Port Community System will further facilitate exports via the port of Rotterdam.

Rockwool is known above all for its production of all types of insulation material for the construction industry. In addition the company also supplies a range of insulation solutions for the manufacturing industry as well as horticultural substrata for professional growers. In Rockwool's extensive factory complex in Roermond work continues round the clock, seven days a week. "And the distribution," say Gerard van Heugten, Manager Transport Planning, and Ben Engelen, in charge of customs clearance. "Depending on the season we have some 150 to 250 trucks coming to the door every day." Rockwool is a major promotor of the use of LCVs, heavy-duty long-haul truck combinations measuring 25.25 metres in length that can transport loads of  up to 60 tonnes, rather than the traditional truck which measures just 18.75 metres in length and can take only 50 tonnes. "It's not only more efficient, but also better for the environment. In principle you can cut the number of trucks being used by a third", says Van Heugten.

Most of the Rockwool products manufactured in Roermond are destined for the Benelux but, says Van Heugten, "we also export a small proportion overseas, particularly specialties for industry such as insulation material for the pipelines of chemical plants in the Middle East." Annually the overseas cargo amounts to some 3000 containers, of which the majority leave the European Union via Rotterdam. "For transport to the harbour we mostly use the inland terminals in Born and Venlo. They fetch the containers at the factory gate, and subsequently deliver them to the container terminals in Rotterdam by inland shipping barge or train."

Red tape
The accompanying flow of information is less straightforward. For many countries, a trip to the embassy concerned and the local Chamber of Commerce is required to secure the necessary export documents. In addition a letter of credit and bill of lading need to be drawn up, while Customs requires an electronic export declaration. Taken together, this involves a lot of specialist work. Van Heugten and Engelen: "Often a single export order comprises more than one container. Unfortunately what we sometimes find is that on arrival in the port the shipping line doesn't have room for all the containers on the arranged vessel." For Rockwool that means that much of the paperwork has to be done over, or needs to be amended. "Mostly we only get to hear that all the containers haven't made it on board once the ship has already left port."

Advantages of ECS services
That's why Rockwool is very enthusiastic about the new ECS services launched by Portbase. "With this we can see for ourselves exactly what's happening to our containers in the port. That's extremely useful. And should the discharge of the Customs export declaration be lacking, then the data in ECS services offer an alternative form of proof that the container has left port. That rules out difficult questions from the Customs Authorities after the fact." Van Heugten and Engelen therefore see the ECS services as real added value making export via Rotterdam port more attractive. "You can track and control your cargo. European exporters will be very happy with these ECS services. And for the port they represent a valuable addition to their services offering."