F.S. Mackenzie Connects Western Europe to Iraq with New Groupage Trailer Service

Farnborough, United Kingdom, April 21, 2011 --(PR.com)-- The service, which caters for express groupage and part-loads, has been launched in response to increased business demand to supply goods to growing markets in Iraq, especially in the Kurdistan region. It follows the creation of a business partnership with leading Iraqi freight forwarder and integrated logistic solutions provider, Mateen Express.

The service operates twice a week from hubs in Dortmund, Germany and Basildon, England and goes to the Mateen Express hub at Erbil, Iraq. The trailers travel via Italy where they are taken by ferry to Mersin, Turkey for onward travel to Erbil. During the trials, F.S. Mackenzie has been handling around two trailers a week.

Alfred Stienen, Managing Director, F.S. Mackenzie, knows this is the right time to offer this new guaranteed express groupage and part-load service between Western Europe and Iraq.

Stienen says: “Our trials have been an absolute success and given us the belief to launch this service to the market. There are many freight forwarders who claim to provide a service to Iraq, but few deliver. The market knows that Iraqi consumers and business community are demanding more Western European goods and that F.S. Mackenzie is now on a firm footing to serve that demand.

“F.S. Mackenzie’s German hub is strategically located near Dortmund in the heart of the industrialised Rhine and Ruhr areas and can process shipments from all over Germany, as well as other EU countries. The UK depot at Basildon is convenient for motorway access to many of the UK’s manufacturing districts. Both locations cement F.S Mackenzie’s ability to serve exporters from these and surrounding markets.

“During the trials, I was so pleased that we were able to move valuable and demanding cargo such as equipment for the oil and gas industries. This demonstrates that the export community can trust us with their valuable cargoes. Many customers will be attracted to the fact that cargo on this service is not transhipped on the journey.”

Co-loading opportunities

As part of the Famous Pacific Shipping (FPS) global family of forwarders, F.S. Mackenzie offers opportunities for cross trading and co-loading onto the Iraqi service at the European hubs, as well as a link up in Mersin or Istanbul for on-carriage into Iraq.

Stienen adds: “As part of the FPS family, our reach is global and I invite freight customers throughout Western Europe to connect with this service at our Dortmund or Basildon hubs, I am especially pleased that we have linked up with Mateen Express. Their knowledge of the Iraqi market is a perfect complement to F.S. Mackenzie’s European knowledge. Clients of both will now be able to take advantage of the synergies we have created in this arrangement.”

Mateen Express is a full service freight forwarder with five branches in Iraq (Erbil, Baghdad, Basra, Sulaimanya and Duhok), a full set up in Dubai and two of its own branches in China.

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