For leading construction and engineering firm Keltbray, based in the south of England, that is a very pertinent question.
The resounding answer from trusted contacts, though, was a clear one: Streamline Shipping Group - leading Aberdeen haulage company.
Logistics in Remote Locations
Keltbray approached Streamline to assist with the transport of plant machinery and equipment to the island of Flotta – off the coast of Orkney – where the firm was decommissioning now-redundant oil terminals.
The remote island destination may have proven difficult for some logistics firms, but with Streamline’s extensive knowledge – built up over 40 years of working on Orkney – the team was the obvious choice.
“It was all smooth sailing,” said Sean Benneworth, head of heavy haulage for Keltbray.
“Vanessa and the Streamline team on Orkney provided great service, and were extremely helpful. They work really easily with people, and managed to get us onboarded and everything organised in time. It certainly made my life a lot easier.”
Multi-Stage Logistics
The transport of masses of equipment and heavy machinery required precision organisation, ensuring that every stage of the journey by road and sea went smoothly.
After first transporting the equipment to Aberdeen from the south of England by road, Streamline carried the load over water to the Kirkwall depot on Orkney.
With such bulky equipment and machinery, Streamline utilised a fleet of low loaders and heavy haulage units to carry the wide and out-of-guage loads.
From Kirkwall, Keltbray’s cargo travelled by road to Houton, before boarding a local ferry bound for Flotta, its final destination.
With lots of variables at play – including sailing times, the weather, and driver availability – Streamline coordinated everything to ensure that the equipment arrived onsite exactly when the Keltbray team needed it there.
And now that the work on Flotta is completed, Streamline is managing the return journey.
Sean added: “I would absolutely recommend working with Streamline for logistics; I’d definitely use them again.
“Anyone that makes my life easier is someone I want to work with!”
