Photo: LKW Walter
Lessons learned
Uninterrupted welding is what counts and a production process should not be down due to lack welding wire. The blockage of the Suez channel with cargo from Asia showed Europe’s blatant dependence on uninterrupted logistics – including welding wire for some companies. But there were lessons learned in the last decades as well; farmer strikes blocking highways, heavy snow in the alps, massive traffic jams during summer including the tunnels crossing the alps. And what to think about the first months of the covid lockdowns across Europe, when lang haul freight options were decimated. All reasons why Valk Welding has chosen long ago to spread the risk of delayed deliveries that ultimately could hurt your interest: downtime due to no wire. Logistics around welding wire are crucial as 800 metric ton of welding wire is shipped each month. A significant part of the over 30 monthly inbound trucks with Valk Welding wire are transported through Europe using Intermodal freight: combining train and truck. Shipping the longest distance by train ensures a significantly higher delivery reliability, without the head ache of traffic jams, strikes or snow delays let alone a ship sideways in a canal.
