NORDFROST takes over operations of RS reefer service

NORDFROST, the market leader in frozen logistics based in Schortens, Friesland, near Wilhelmshaven, has taken over the operations of RS reefer service GmbH, Bremen, effective November 1, 2021, and will continue the business of the specialist for reefer container services under the name NORDFROST. This has allowed for the acquisition of eleven experienced employees who will provide complete services for refrigerated containers at all German container seaports.

(PresseBox; Schortens, Bremen) For refrigerated containers, known as reefer containers, a check of the refrigeration unit for functionality is necessary before every loading or shipping. The former RS reefer service GmbH specialized in the proper execution of these regularly occurring pre-trip inspections (PTI). Furthermore, the employees who have now transitioned to NORDFROST will carry out repairs on the refrigeration units of the refrigerated containers both on land and on container ships when they stop at German ports, utilizing their extensive know-how as needed. These services will now be provided by the technicians for their customers at NORDFROST, fitting seamlessly into the further development of the family business in the field of port logistics, which, alongside storage and transport logistics, represents the third business area of the logistics provider.

The nine technicians and two commercial employees, who have an excellent reputation in the market, will be deployed on-site at all German container seaports. Their service locations are at the NORDFROST seaport terminal in the container port of Wilhelmshaven, at NORDFROST in Schwanewede near Bremen, as well as in the Bremerhaven fishing port and Hamburg Wilhelmsburg—two company locations that will undergo extensive structural expansion in the coming year.

Competent and dedicated reinforcement

The new employees were warmly welcomed at the seaport terminal on November 1. Branch manager Philipp Brandstrup was pleased with the competent and dedicated reinforcement of his team: “The colleagues are highly motivated. Together, we will continue to provide services for existing customers from shipping companies and industry at the highest quality and also offer these to other interested parties at all German container seaports.” Britta Bartels, managing director of NORDFROST, adds: “The complete service for reefer containers fits perfectly into our port strategy and expands our range of services, as we now also carry out repairs on the refrigeration units in addition to the PTI check—on land and, if necessary, on the ships of the shipping companies. The newly acquired team represents an absolute enrichment for us with its knowledge and experience.”

NORDFROST offers shippers and shipping companies the operation of container depots directly at their port locations, especially for refrigerated containers, providing the shortest, fastest routes and the possibility of maximum utilization of the globally scarce and valuable transport capacity. Thus, an import container can be processed directly at the NORDFROST cold storage facility after unloading at the port, being washed, PTI-checked, and repaired if necessary, before being reloaded with export goods at the same location.

New service offering also in Wesel

NORDFROST has developed the concept for its seaport terminal in the container port of Wilhelmshaven, the largest of its 40 logistics locations nationwide, where the new fully automated cold storage high-bay warehouse began operations in early November. This service offering will now also be realized at the new NORDFROST port terminal in Wesel on the Lower Rhine, where there is already excellent waterway access from the Ruhr area via the Rhine to Rotterdam and Antwerp for shipments to and from overseas.

Here, it will take on special significance: While the reefer container unloading in the hinterland is currently first transported back as an empty container to European seaports to be processed there and then again transported empty for the next export loading into the hinterland, this can in the future be directly shipped worldwide from Wesel after technical inspection and reloading on-site without empty transports.

Bundling all logistics services

For global trade, NORDFROST offers its customers extensive services in port logistics, including sea freight bookings, import and export customs clearance, as well as pre- and post-carriage. The focus is on particularly efficient solutions for shipping to and from overseas. This is achieved by bundling all logistics services directly at the company’s port locations, including storage and transport logistics, resulting in numerous added values for importers and exporters. Short distances and fast processes, as well as economical and sustainable processes, are the result.

Photo: © Nordfrost