While everybody was busy packing Christmas presents as the year ends, it is an intense time in the logistics industry. In December 2022, Integral Chile, a Project Logistics Alliance member representing Chile, successfully delivered a 76-ton dryer to the port of Valparaíso to be shipped to its final destination in Mexico. It sounds rather straightforward, but as somebody working in logistics, you know that story is not always as simple as it seems.

Photo Credit: Integral Chile

The factory that manufactures the dryers is located around Talcahuano, in the south of Chile that has ports nearby, but none of them could be used to ship the cargo since there were no vessels that were scheduled to go to those ports with the capacity to carry such heavy machinery. Integral Chile’s Project Cargo team found a new solution where they designed a multimodal option, which consisted of delivering the dryer by ground to Valparaíso port, in a 500 km trip, so the cargo could be shipped to Houston and then further to Mexico where the buyer is. It was the best alternative that could fit the customer’s time constraints.

Photo Credit: Integral Chile

Prior to that the supplier had to regularize the dryer’s specifications multiple times. Permission to travel using roads and highways with oversized cargo, along with police escort had to be requested, which was granted some days later by the local authorities. Such issues consumed critical time, but meticulous planning allowed to match it with one of the vessel’s schedules. After a few weeks, the cargo finally departed from Talcahuano to Valparaíso in a modular truck with an auxiliary vehicle and a police escort. The convoy was joined by the Integral Chile’s senior staff to ensure smooth operations and eventually arrived at Valparaíso just in time for the truck to be allowed to enter and remain at the port. All necessary documentation was completed, and the dryer was finally confirmed to be loaded into the vessel in a couple of days. When the time came, a maneuver was performed, and the 76 tons heavy machinery was safely loaded into the vessel.

Photo Credit: Integral Chile

Despite the situation being far diffirent from what it was expected, thanks to Integral Chili team’s eagerness to find the most efficient and optimal solution, it was possible to send the cargo on its way and the dryer arrived securely to its destination. 

You can also see the details on the port’s news:

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7012069511457554433/

Related links

Integral Chile Website
Integral Chile LinkedIn