STC’s food-grade fleet keeps growing

The history of food-grade bulk-liquids transportation can be traced back more than 2,000 years.  In the first century BC, the Romans used amphorae to distribute wine and olive oil throughout the Mediterranean region.  Wine amphorae typically held 20 to 30 liters.  The amphorae were loaded horizontally in the holds of ships such that the pointed bottoms of one row meshed with the pointed ends of the adjacent row, thus helping to prevent cargoes from shifting.

Amphorae enabled producers to meet the strong demand for wine that existed during the period.  Curiously, technology took a step backward when amphorae—which were airtight—were largely replaced by wooden barrels in the second century AD.  As a result, vintage wines disappeared until the 17th century, with the advent of the glass bottle and cork.

Today’s global markets obviously demand more sophisticated—and bigger—transportation solutions, though many of the cargoes remain the same.  In fact, value-priced wines often now travel in bulk.  Consider this the next time you are enjoying a glass of chardonnay: on its journey to your table, that glass of wine may have been transported in a Stolt tank container!

Stolt Tank Containers’ expansion into the food-grade business has been both steady and methodical.  In the early 1990s, STC formed a strategic alliance that enabled it to acquire solid experience in the food-grade sector, and the highly specialized wines and spirits market.

STC’s food-grade expansion continued with the acquisition of Ermefer, the food-grade container business of Group Ermewa S.A., in May of 2005.  The transaction added 300 tanks to STC’s growing food-grade fleet, which was further augmented with the addition of 600 newbuilds later that year.  As Mike Kramer, STC’s Managing Director, noted at the time: “The Ermefer acquisition underscores our commitment to our food-grade business and to enhancing STC’s capacity to meet the growing needs of food-grade customers worldwide.”

STC’s goal is to continue to expand its presence in international, regional and domestic food-grade markets.  In the summer of 2008, 150 new tank containers were added to STC’s food-grade fleet to meet strong customer demand, particularly in the whisky market.  STC’s food-grade fleet now consists of more than 1300 spot and contract food-grade tanks. 

From a strategic point of view, STC’s pursuit of the food-grade business has always been about leveraging the Stolt-Nielsen brand and its worldwide reputation for quality.

“This opportunity was tailor-made for us,” says Kramer.  “But have been careful to take our time, learn the business and grow into it.  And that paid off, because STC is now recognised as one of the market leaders in the food-grade tank container business.”

STC is also fully involved in the growing flexitank sector of the bulk-liquids transportation market.  A flexitank—also known as a flexibag—is a one-way, disposable flexible bladder that is contained in a conventional 20-foot dry ISO container.  The tanks are used to carry non-hazardous liquid cargoes ranging from wine to bio diesel.

Wine producers have had a major impact on the increased use of flexitanks.  The flexitank industry last year passed a milestone of 160,000 moves, with more than a quarter of the growth attributable to wine shipments.

“In the wine industry, flexitanks are an accepted alternative to tank containers,” says Christian Ronxin, who heads the food-grade group.  “And with wine markets booming in both hemispheres, producers are looking for low-cost ways to get their product to bottlers.  You might say that both tank containers and flexitanks are becoming the amphorae of the 21st century!”

Flexitanks are far less costly than shipping cases of bottles and give buyers, such as supermarkets, the opportunity to privately label wines.

“Flexitanks give us another way of delivering value to our customers,” notes Kramer.  “But as in the tank container business, what sets really STC apart from the competition is our ability to deliver high quality at low cost.  And that’s where our people make all the difference.  There is no one in this business who does a better job of trying to do what’s best for the customer while relentlessly focusing on ways to improve profitability.”

Concludes Kramer: “The food-grade business is a targeted growth market for STC and we are fully committed to the continued expansion of our presence in all sectors of the market.”

	Tank Containers	Flexitanks	Amphorae
Capacity:	up to 26,000 litres	up to 24,000 litres	20 to 30 litres
Construction:	stainless steel	polyethylene, nylon, polyester	clay ceramic
Cargoes:	wine, beer whisky bourbon gin vodka tequila fructose   corn/syrup sweeteners edible oils food-grade chemicals, ie, sorbitol soy lecithin (Vitamin E)	wine juice edible oils malt extracts	wine olive oil