To get those vehicles to their destination involves the use of roll on, roll off (ro/ro) vessels, designed specifically to accommodate wheeled cargoes. Despite the costs involved in shipping such cargoes to countries like Africa, dealers and exporters continue to do a brisk trade at auctions throughout the UK as demand remains strong.

Here at John Good Shipping we specialise in the export of used vehicles and a variety of other ro/ro cargo. As UK agent for MACS, we operate a regular liner service for ro/ro traffic to South Africa and are also heavily involved in the shipment of ro/ro cargoes to West Africa, primarily Nigeria and Ghana, and also to East Africa, that’s to say Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.

Ro/ro shipments consist primarily of cars, trucks, trailers, buses, plant and machinery and this remains a very buoyant market. MACS currently offers sailings every 10 days from Immingham to South Africa. Ro/ro cargo destined for East Africa is generally loaded at Southampton and Sheerness whilst cargo for West Africa is generally loaded in Tilbury. We currently handle over 25,000 lane metres of used vehicles and machinery each year.

Although these countries are developing rapidly, it is often difficult for them to fund the purchase of new vehicles meaning demand for this type of cargo is increasing, and a plentiful supply in the UK means we are well positioned to meet that demand.
As far as the future is concerned, demand has been consistently strong for a number of years and we see no immediate signs that this will change. As Africa continues to develop, attracting significant overseas investment, the requirement for used vehicles remains high leading to an expanding export market.

The walk will connect two of the country’s major shipping hubs – Liverpool and Hull – and will be completed in stages over the course of one day by around 150 of our employees and their families and friends.

Alan Platt said: “It was felt that connecting two of the country’s major ports, Liverpool and Hull, a distance of 180 miles by foot, would be an appropriate way of celebrating the Group’s 180th year in business, as well as an excellent way to raise funds for a worthwhile cause.

“We have strong links with the RNLI – the original John Good was heavily involved in safety at sea and was indeed himself rescued on two occasions. Marine safety is a top priority for us, which is why the RNLI was the obvious choice.”

The RNLI will support the effort by asking its branches located along the route to publicise the walk and will be organising a raffle. The Group is hoping to raise £10,000 for the charity.

The sponsored walk will start at Liverpool’s Albert Dock on the 6th July and the participants will be divided into groups that will each complete a designated section of the route. The day will end with a celebration at the Group headquarters in Hull.

Louise Barth, RNLI Area Fundraising Manager, said the money raised by the walk would make a big difference to the lifesaving charity.

She added: ‘Support and fundraising like this is vital if our volunteer crews are to go on saving lives at sea. We are delighted that the John Good Group has got behind the RNLI in this way and wish everyone taking part the very best of luck for the walk.’

As well as the walk, we’re also hosting a celebratory 180th Anniversary dinner and will be updating the company history in order to commemorate this momentous year.

The business was started by John Good in 1833 when he returned to England following a stint on sailing ships trading in the Baltic, Mediterranean and the White Sea. Using the vast experience he had gained during his time at sea, he set up John Good & Co. as ship chandlers, agents and brokers and a business empire was born.

Fast forward 180 years and the John Good Group of Companies still retains its headquarters in the city, but has now grown to include subsidiaries such as corporate travel company Good Travel Management, Felixstowe Warehousing, DAN Shipping & Chartering and warehousing and distribution specialists Trans-European Port Services (TEPS).

Group managing director Alan Platt is looking forward to celebrating the milestone with his colleagues.

He said: “To reach such a significant anniversary is testament to the hard work and commitment not just of the Good family, but also the many generations of family and staff who have gone before, and who have worked tirelessly to make the business what it is today.

“Rather than succumb to external pressures and market forces, we’re really proud to have tackled the challenges head-on and have become a much stronger and robust organisation as a result.”

This enhanced schedule will be operated by OPDR’s five sister vessels and will, for the first time, include a direct service between the UK (Felixstowe) and Casablanca creating a fast 9 day transit to North Africa. In the past, this service has been routed via Rotterdam under a slot agreement with a third party carrier.

Steve Whitfield, OPDR Line Manager at John Good Shipping, feels the new schedule will offer customers a fast, efficient and cost-effective route into North Africa for a variety of goods including construction materials, spirits, chemicals, used electrical goods and animal feed.

Steve said: “This new schedule makes the OPDR service unique as we are not aware of any other line calling directly, or indeed offering such a quick transit time.

“The usual transit time is around 10 – 16 days, depending on which carrier you choose, and transhipment would be either via Rotterdam, Lisbon or a combination of both or other ports.”

“This new direct service means customers can load containers at their premises right up until the day before departure,” continued Steve Whitfield. “We are creating a possible door- to-door transit time of 11 days which is as fast, and in some cases quicker, than other carriers’ port- to-port transit times.”

Based in Hull, John Good Shipping is one of the UK’s largest and most experienced independent shipping agents. The company has been at the heart of the UK shipping industry since 1833, and has built up an excellent reputation for delivering bespoke services of the highest quality.

Today, John Good provides liner agency, port agency, freight forwarding, haulage and warehousing services to a wide range of companies across a variety of industry sectors. With its own offices at all main UK ports and also in Turkey, established partners in China, India and the Middle East, and representation at major ports worldwide, the business is ideally placed to meet all shipping requirements.

The company specialises in the Turkish market and is a major player in this key trade lane. In addition, CBI is active on a number of other important trade lanes including the Far East, India and the Black Sea. This is an exciting opportunity for both companies to work together and significantly increases our activities in the all-important North West region. The many synergies will undoubtedly enhance the range of services we are able to offer to our customers.

Whilst Kevin Fitzgerald will retire at the end of January 2013 after a long and successful career in the industry, his son, Pete, will remain with CBI as Managing Director. We very much look forward to welcoming the CBI team into the group and to working closely with them in the future to further grow and develop our forwarding activities.

The move is part of the company’s push to expand its corporate travel activities in new regions and follows the acquisition of West Midlands-based corporate and leisure travel specialists, Mercian Travel, in February 2011.

This latest deal brings the number of Good Travel Management locations to five, including Hull, Grimsby, Leeds, the West Midlands and Stockport, and completes the company’s expansion along the M62 corridor.

Managing Director of Good Travel Management Kevin Harrison said: “Uniglobe Regent Travel has many synergies with Good Travel Management including client profile, operational procedure and the experience of the team. It has been run as an extremely tight ship and is a testament to its owners, Martyn and Patricia Greenwood.

“We decided to purchase the firm due to its existing client base and because of its strategic position in the North West, which significantly extends our penetration in the north of England.”

As Manchester and the North West are important strongholds for sister companies John Good Shipping and CBI Transportation UK Ltd, Kevin believes this will be an ideal opportunity to partner with them and grow the business further.

Uniglobe Regent Travel was established in 1997 as a franchise of Uniglobe, the world’s largest single-branded travel group, of which Good Travel Management is also a member.

OPDR, represented in the UK by John Good Shipping, operate a fleet of modern reefer equipment loading at ports such as Cartagena, Motril, Seville and Cadiz in Spain. Short transit times of only six days ensure that a whole range of fresh produce including fruit and vegetables and fresh fruit juices reach all the major UK supermarkets in top condition.

Reefer containers can be set at any temperature to cover all types of perishable cargoes and the containers are checked at regular intervals during transit to ensure they are running at the required temperature. If required, the temperature can be maintained 24 hours-a-day during transit, even during road transportation, where we have specialised vehicles fitted with generators to power the unit.

UK exports of fresh produce in reefer containers is also an important market. Commodities shipped on a regular basis to the Canary Islands, for example, include potatoes, bacon, pies and confectionery, all of which are intended primarily for the tourist trade. In addition, John Good Shipping arranges shipments of fresh produce for major retailers on the Islands such as Marks & Spencer, to cater for the large British community on the Islands.

The short sea reefer market is growing, with more than 80,000 reefer containers being built in the first half of 2012, and a total of 100,000 new units entering service during the whole of 2012

Middlemoor Wind Farm is set to be at the forefront of sustainable energy production since plans were passed in 2008. DAN Shipping & Chartering, part of the John Good Group of companies, managed the import of components for the site on behalf of RWE Npower Renewables.

The components, consisting of nacelles, hubs, nose cones and turbine equipment, were brought into the Port of Blyth by Dutch vessel, MV Metsaborg, for the 18 turbines that will stand on the farm providing power to 27, 600 homes across Alnwick and Berwick. The site will produce 54 megawatts of electricity each year.

Plans for the farm have been formulating since 2004 and have been subject to an extensive public consultation, which was concluded in late 2007.

During 2013, local residents will be asked for their thoughts on how to spend an estimated £1.6m in funding relating to the project that is earmarked for community projects and initiatives.

The investment will also include a comprehensive training program for the appropriate staff to ensure they are fully conversant with the safe and efficient operation of this state-of-the-art technology.

Straddle carriers are generally used to move and stack ISO containers at port terminals and intermodal yards with a lift capacity of up to 35 tons.
The ability to lift containers from chassis to the floor at Felixstowe Warehousing will provide several key benefits including:

• Improved site safety
• Increased operational efficiencies
• Reduced time for loading and unloading of containers
• More efficient use of space
• Undercover loading and unloading of containers
• Eliminate dependency on mobile ramps

The order has already been placed with Fork Truck Direct and Felixstowe Warehousing anticipate the straddle carrier will be commissioned in January 2013.

We were up against some stiff competition from GF Smith, a well-established and well-respected Hull company and to them we offer our best wishes.

We enjoyed a fantastic night at The Willerby Manor, with a delicious three-course meal and great entertainment. However the stars of the show were undoubtedly the other businesses with which we shared the evening and the limelight. We have heaps of talent and business acumen here in Hull and it was truly rewarding to see it celebrated.

Alan Platt accepted the award alongside John Rutherford and John Garnier. He said: “It really is gratifying to receive an award such as this. It is a direct reflection of the hard work and commitment of all of our staff that we have been able to deliver our long-term strategy for growth, and this award is dedicated to them.”

Neil Hodgkinson, editor of the Hull Daily Mail, paid tribute to Hull’s business community, stating that in difficult times they had remain resilient and determined, and worked hard to ensure the continuing prosperity of the city.