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Cars as far as the eye can see. The horizon is formed from silhouettes of well-known car models that have been mixed together. If you get closer to the vehicles, many models look strangely masked. Sheets, hoods, buffers and hub caps made of transparent plastic all around the cars. Both variants have this in common, regardless of whether for import or export - when automobiles go on long ship journeys, manufacturers sometimes protect their new vehicles from possible transport damage in a very complex manner.
Bremerhaven - the hub of automobile exports
It is the largest European car terminal. In Bremerhaven, thousands of employees take care of the smooth running behind the scenes of the new car business every day. The hustle and bustle of the is organized and operated Company BLG Logistics, With nearly 16.000 employees worldwide, BLG is one of the big players in the logistics business. Alone on the 2.4 million m² area around the sea port of Bremerhaven, hundreds of people work on just one task every day:
Driving new cars from the ships, driving new cars onto the ships
The cheapest transport route to the US or Asia is the ship. The new vehicles from the German premium manufacturers are shipped from Bremerhaven all over the world. And from all over the world import models from manufacturers like Hyundai, Kia or Suzuki come to Bremerhaven and from there you can reach the automobile dealers in Germany and Europe.
BLG Logistics was founded by merchants in Bremen in 1877 - at a time when there were still no cars - and today it moves a proud total of 6.8 million vehicles. In the beginning it was the core business to load and unload (unload) the vehicles onto the car transport ships, some of which can hold up to 6.000 vehicles. Today, the work at the Bremerhaven site includes many more tasks.
The quality control
While the export models from German automobile manufacturing within a few days the way from the railway track (Eg: Mercedes-Benz delivers daily fresh A and B classes from the factory in Rastatt and Bremen, by train to Bremerhaven), find out about the farm of the BLG and in the belly of the often loose 240 meter long cargo ships, for example, the vehicles imported from Japan often more time, but also work over.
Unload, park, clean, inspect, deliver. So the actual and still clear course of vehicles from Japanese or Korean production. However, BLG now offers more than just the preparation of imported models and storage to delivery to dealers.
The logistics expert has long since become a car expert.
The Japanese automobile manufacturer Suzuki, for example, relies on the extensive services provided by BLG. After the long journey, removing the protective transport film and then cleaning the vehicles in one of the 5 washing lines at the Bremerhaven location is only the first step for many models from the Japanese small car experts.
The first vehicle wash
As an example, a look at the successful 4 × 4 model from Suzuki, the little Jimny. After the newly delivered Jimnys have been unloaded in single file from the large transport ships, the first step is a “decoiling” waiting for them. Hoods and other large surfaces must be freed from the plastic protective film that was stuck on to protect the paint. Then it goes to the car wash for the first time.
The process of unloading, parking and preparation, right through to loading on semitrailers, is checked as soon as the new Jimnys go to the dealers using a barcode sticker on the vehicles and an IT system. So everyone always knows - BLG, the dealer and the manufacturer, where, which Jimny, at what time.
Still on the tape after the car wash, the models get the right manuals and service stickers missed. Strict glances check the then gleaming in the new car shine Jimny (applies to all vehicles in Bremerhaven) on quirks and defects.
Wax under it
The BLG workshop is once again specially preparing Suzuki models for the German market. This includes extensive treatment with protective wax for the underbody, the cavities and also the engine compartment. At the Bremerhaven location, BLG has almost 300 employees in four technical centers. In 2012, 233.000 vehicles were processed there. From the dent in the sheet metal to scratches in the paint to special models, a lot is possible on the 28.000m² technical area. For example special models:
The Jimny becomes a forester
On German side of Suzuki is the “sovereign companion for hunters”, It is called“ Ranger ”there. However, the Jimny Ranger is an invention of the German Suzuki importer. A Jimny specially prepared for “hunters” was not planned in Japan. So that no one is abandoned by the hunter's luck, BLG (at Suzuki's request) builds the Jimny for the "Jimny Ranger" around. This includes the assembly of the trailer hitch, a partition grille in the interior, a welding trough and other details.
The way to the customer
From the ship, to the preparation, through the quality control and with adapted equipment to the parking lot. As soon as the import models arriving in Bremerhaven, the largest importer in the rest of BMW with its models from the US manufacturing, have found their way, it's back to one of the large parking lots.
From there, the last leg on the way to the customer usually leads to the back of one of the 510 BLG car transporters.
If the car leaves this transport, somewhere in Germany, in the case of the Jimny, that's the end of a journey of more than 7.000 kilometers - but the speedometer of the new car is still virgin thanks to the ship and truck.
Note: New in the blog the category: "That's how it works". A kind of 'broadcast with the mouse for adults and of course only around the topics that are directly or indirectly related to the car.If you have a topic for this category, or a question - write me! Contact: info @ autohub. de