August 28 - Sovereign Logistics, part of the Express Shipping & Logistics Group, has coordinated the transport of a new cement mill gearbox from China to Kenya, to replace a broken unit and maintain operations.
Initially Sovereign considered shipping the 14-tonne unit in a 20 ft open top container, but soon realised that the ocean journey would not be quick enough to meet the client's tight deadline.
The only option was to transport the large machine by air, concluded Sovereign, with Saudia Cargo the only airline willing to deliver the cargo.
The unit first had to be packed inside a heavy-duty crate in China, before being lifted onto a low loader and transported over 3,200 km by road to Guangzhou airport. Unfortunately, explained Sovereign, the weekly flight to Jeddah was missed by just two hours.
After waiting a week for the next flight, the cargo was loaded safely into the airport and flown to Jeddah, before waiting another week for its final flight to Nairobi.
Sovereign managed to obtain an advance cargo release for the cement mill gearbox, meaning that it was able to clear the shipment at night, against the usual Customs operations of the airport.
Once cleared, the cargo was lifted onto a truck and driven to the site ready for immediate installation.
Sovereign Logistics is a member of the Project Cargo Network (PCN) in Kenya.
