22/03/2021

Case: The international rail connection was a positive experience for Flameko Forwarding

When Estonian forwarding company Flameko Forwarding needed quick assistance with rail freight in December, we helped them without delay. After this successful first experience, Flameko chose to work with us in the future as well.

Sometimes cooperation and projects are planned carefully for weeks and months in advance. Sometimes everything happens quickly, and processes must be in superb condition to enable helping customers promptly. The latter describes our newfound cooperation with Flameko Forwarding. kanssa.

Flameko Forwarding on keskittynyt pääasiassa ulkomaisiin lentorahtipalveluihin and merirahtiin and junarahtiin. Vuoden 2020 lopussa Flameko tarvitsi pikaista apua kasvomaskitoimituksiin Kiinasta.

“We had several shipments of face masks and some industrial machinery stuck in China due to the bad situation in rail freight and container availability,” explains Flameko’s Sales Manager Kalev Kirt. Kalev Kirt.

Typically, Flameko utilises a train connection from China to Poland. In November, this connection was severely overbooked, and thus there would have been a delay of several days. Switching to sea freight was not an option in this case, because sea freight is slower and sea container capacity is still deficient due to Covid-19.

“CHS introduced us to the option of sending rail cargo via Finland. The rates sounded good to us and they were able to find us space and free containers in the ZIH train, so it was a no-brainer,” Kirt says.

Face masks from China to Estonia in 20 days

The ZIH train is an international rail connection. Its starting point is located in Zhengzhou, and it ends in Vuosaari Harbour. The train travels the distance of 6 600 kilometres in 17 days – clearly beating sea freight’s travel time of 40 days.

The container of face masks was loaded to the train that left Zhengzhou train station on November 20th and arrived at Vuosaari on December 7th. In the following days, the freight was unloaded and delivered to the Estonian customer on December 10th, 20 days after the shipment left the factory.

“Such speed was an exceptional result at that time. Considering the freight situation in China, I was pleasantly surprised,” Kirt says.

“They delivered what they promised in those hectic times and any problems on the way were resolved and alternatives found.”

Reliable partner for time-critical transports

Kalev Kirt turned to us due to a recommendation from a long-time partner and customer:

“I tend to approach everyone with an open mind. I knew that the person who recommended CHS to me was always dealing with very complicated logistics issues, so I was sure that CHS would deliver – and they did!”

Kirt affirms that Flameko Forwarding is happy to continue work with CHS. Now, the cooperation has been going on for a few months. After the first successful project, other projects have already been completed, and more are in store:

“We need reliable partners around the Baltic Sea and CHS has proven to be that for us. I would certainly recommend CHS to anyone who needs results even in tough and time-critical transports.”