Europe’s intermodal industry is under intense pressure to eliminate choke points on transit routes between ports and the hinterland and to balance out supply and demand. The 32nd Intermodal Conference, running alongside the Intermodal 2007 Exhibition, will see key industry professionals gather to address these issues. Among them will be Menno Menist, Managing Director, NEA Transport Research and Training, who will speak during the introductory session on the first day. He explains: “Intermodal operators have to deal with various challenges. The biggest impediments to intermodalism are bottlenecks on the transit routes from ports to the hinterland and difficulties in transferring containers from one mode to another. Due to lack of infrastructure capacity, such as rail slots and intermodal terminals, seamless handling is still a big problem.”
The first day of the conference will start with a background assessment of developments within the intermodal transport and logistics chain. The discussion will concentrate on critical bottlenecks and choke points within and between all transport modes and the European Commission will present an update on the progress of its Logistics Action Plan. By examining the role of North West European ports and their hinterland connections, more efficient ways of serving other European markets, whether via rail, inland waterway or shortsea shipping, will be identified. Another focus will be on forging strategic partnerships between ocean carriers and inland distribution operators.
The second day of the Intermodal Conference will see dedicated sessions on managing empty containers, ultra large container carriers, as well as on 45ft containers, the latter being a particular hot topic in the Baltic region at the moment. Having already established market presence in the North and Irish Sea trades, these boxes are now set to capture the Baltic market, as they are ideally suited to meet its particular demand for a truly intermodal transport unit. Wout Pronk, former CEO, Geest North Sea Line will lead this discussion, and Jan Koolen, Managing Director, Unit 45 as well as William Harrison, Managing Director, Container Leasing UK (Ltd) are among other participants.
The third day of the conference is dedicated to practical workshops. Participants in the IT and Intermodal Asset Management session, lead by Craig Anthony, will learn about guidelines and benchmarks for IT investment. During the Real-Time Remote Reefer Monitoring workshop, Johan Ivarson will talk attendees through the technology available to monitor reefers from any location in the world, gathering information such as temperature, humidity and geographical position.
Other confirmed speakers at Intermodal 2007 include Andrew Trail, Policy Director, European Shippers Council; Bart Verbeke, Director Intermodal Division, P&O Ferrymasters; Pieter Bas Bredius, CEO, Ceres Paragon Terminal; Karl Michael Mohnsen, CEO, TX Logistik; Gerry Robinson, Marketing Director, Capital Intermodal; and Lord Tony Berkeley, Chairman, Rail Freight Group.
To register for the conference please visit www.intermodal-events.com/conference or call the hotline on +44 (0) 207 017 5513.
The choice of the vibrant port city of Amsterdam as the location for Intermodal 2007 has also proven a significant draw to companies participating in the three-day exhibition that accompanies the annual conference. The following leading industry names will showcase their latest company, product and service developments at Intermodal 2007:
3M China Ltd – stand B6; Arlon Inc – stand C50; Asia Vision Technology Limited – stand A13; Baltic Press – stand G21; BIC Nordic – stand G4; C & Jindo Co Ltd – stand E16; CAI – stand C24; Carlisle Leasing – stand C26; Carrier Transicold – stand D20; Cat Logic bv – stand C44; Central Systems & Automation – stand E23;
Conforce International – stand D25; Conical – stand E42; Consent Equipment AB – stand C18; Container Care – stand E35; Container Company Amsterdam bv – stand B32; Container Leasing – stand D26; Container Owners Association – stand D12; Container Providers – stand E26; Containerisation International – stand B8;
Crane Composites – stand C48; Cronos – stand E38; CXIC – stand E58; Daikin Industries Ltd – stand B26; Domino Flatracks – stand B4; EJ Brooks Company – stand C16; EMR Ltd – stand G22; Fargo – stand A20; Flexbox – stand D47; Florens Container Service – stand E20; Fort Vale – stand G6; GE Transportation Finance – stand C20; Global Software Systems – stand A11; Gold Container Corp – stand C38; Hempel – stand E32; Huaxi Container – stand C22; Jade Software Corp – stand E13; Jura – stand A3; Klinge – stand E34; K-Tainer – stand E42; Landmark Depot Facility bv – stand B16; Leghorn SRL – stand B48; LLS Baltic Container Service – stand E30; Logica – stand D42; Maersk MCI – stand E22; MTLS – stand B18; PD Ports – stand G20; Port Autonome de Strasbourg – stand C8; Port of Amsterdam – stand B40; Port of Taranto – stand B46; Qingdao Xin Sanly Reefer – stand C10; Qualitank Services Limited – stand C46; Real Asset Management plc – stand D40; Rook Container Maintenance – stand B10; RTSB – stand G25; ScandiWood A/S – stand C42; Schouten Container Services bv – stand C46; Seamark Reefer Service bv – stand B16; Senmatic – stand E24; Shining Fortune – stand A10, Shortsea Promotion Centre Holland – stand C14; TAL International Container Corp – stand C40; Thermo King – stand D32; Trademark Leasing & Trading bv – stand B16; UES AG – stand E42; Unit45 – stand C45; Ware Care Pest Control – stand B12; Yangzhou – stand D45; York Refrigeration – stand D41.
Please visit www.intermodal-events.com/exlist for the up-to-date exhibitor list with company profiles.
The Intermodal 2007 Conference runs alongside the Intermodal Exhibition. Visitors can register for free entrance to the exhibition by registering online at www.intermodal-events.com/register.
For more information please visit
http://www.intermodal-events.com/ or contact Suzanne Tiago, tel. +44(0)20
7017 7023, email to
stiago@iirx.co.uk.
