Relocation of Entire Factory from Pennsylvania to China

PROJECT:

MSL Express worked on a project for a global corporation and world leader in specialty glass and ceramics, which involved relocating the client’s entire factory of expensive machineries from the United States to China. The entire project was estimated to take from 10 months up to a year to complete.

LOGISTICS REQUIREMENTS, CHALLENGES & SOLUTIONS:

Although MSL Express competed against 8 other companies among whom there were 6 multinationals, we won the bid due to our excellent references from another China customer who had been using our services for over 10 years. Referral became one of the key factors to our winning the bid; it also demonstrated that MSL Express has many loyal and long-term customers. 

The project required a logistics service provider with extensive experience in handling oversized and overweight cargo. Due to the complexity of the project, MSL Express had to seamlessly coordinate with multiple parties: the buyer in China, more than 18 staff members from China who supervised the project on-site, the buyer’s agent from Los Angeles, the seller’s representatives on-site, the packers and their staff of over 30 members, and the buyer’s on-site staff and engineers. MSL Express also posted two experienced project managers on-site to assist in the day-to-day coordination.

Since the Chinese buyer’s on-site staff did not speak English, did not drive, and were not familiar with the location and available resources in Pennsylvania, the MSL Express team made the extra effort in providing meticulous and solicitous attention to the buyer’s on-site staff, including taking care of their daily needs. MSL Express also arranged and took the group of about 20 staff members to sightseeing trips to Harrisburg, Pittsburg, New York City, and even a site visit to the shipping line’s terminal so that they would be able to observe how their cargo was being loaded.

RESULT:

MSL Express successfully shipped a total of 12,000 tons of 978 x 40 foot containers and 123 oversized/overweight crates, and as required, separately packaged and shipped loose, piece by piece. The combined total was 61,760 cubic meters, of which 6,033 cubic meters were shipped loose by breakbulk vessel. Also noteworthy about this project was how MSL Express provided strategic recommendations to help expedite and facilitate the shipping process.