Blog Archives

We visited the garlic fields of Las Pedroñeras in Cuenca, Spain.

Last may, and about to begin the annual garlic campaign, the Smart team visited Las Pedroñeras, a small town known as the World Capital of Garlic. (Let’s meet the team)

The history of Las Pedroñeras stands out on the crop and farming of the “Ajo Morado” or purple garlic. As the leading garlic peninsula exporter and world’s largest producer and trader, the majority of its population live from this vegetable. (Check here our stone-fruit campaign)

Before entering the town, we could smell its unique aroma and see the impressive garlic fields which you can’t see where they end. We visited several companies that, besides receiving us very well, gave us the chance to try the coveted black garlic and showed us closely the endless garlic fields.

Along with a client and very good friend, we had the opportunity to see different varieties of garlic and its different stages of growing. On one side, we found the “Spring Blanco” and the “Spring Violeta” types of garlic, that were ready to be collected. On the other side, we found the most well-known and emblematic type, the “Ajo Morado de Las Pedroñeras” or purple garlic from Las Pedroñeras. It was on its stage of ripeness and its harvest won’t be ready until the end of june.

This great visit, in which we could see and touch this excellent product that is cultivated with so much care, has allowed us to appreciate the enormous commitment that this requires and therefore we feel committed to keep providing the best solutions to our clients. (Take a look to this successful projects)

As experts in perishable products logistics, we are aware that, in the garlic sector and other fresh products, our job is essential of the supply chain and that’s why we are proud of being able to say that every year, more companies from this sector choose us as their reliable provider to move their produce anywhere in the world.

From Smart Logistics, we would like to thank our clients and exporters of fresh garlic, the trust they place in us year after year. We will continue to work for our logistics services to meet the requirements of high quality of the products we transport. We can ensure that every garlic shipment we transport, arrives to its destination to be recognized as the best garlic of the world. (For further information about fresh logistics contact us now)

New Dockers’ strike confirmed in Spain.

We regret to inform, once again, that the announcement of dockers’ strike in Spain has been confirmed for the following days: 7th, 9th, 14th and 15th (48 hours), 19th, 21th and 23th of june. The strikes will be performed from 8:00 am to 8:00 am of the next day during alternative hours (that means: from 9:00 to 10:00; from 11:00 to 12:00; from 13:00 to 14:00; from 15:00 to 16:00; from 17:00 to 18:00; from 19:00 to 20:00; from 21:00 to 22:00; from 23:00 to 00:00; from 01:00 to 02:00; from 03:00 to 04:00; from 05:00 to 06:00 and from 07:00 to 08:00).

Please bear in mind that this strike may cause delays in departures, congestion in ports or even the cancellation of stops from shipping lines, therefore, Smart Logistics Group may not be responsible for any inconvenience which may arise.

As always and from Smart Logistics Group, we’ll keep you informed about latest news on this matter.

For further details please contact us now.

NEWS UPDATE (08/06/17):

Strikes confirmed for the next days:

• 9th, 19th, 21th and 23th of June at odd hours.
• From 14th to 16th of June (48 hours) non-stop.

For further details please contact us now.

NEWS UPDATE (16/06/17):

Strikes pre-confirmed for the next days:

• 19th, 21h, 23h, 26th, 27th, 29th, and 30th of June at odd hours.
• 3th, 4th, 6th and 7th of July at odd hours.

For further details please contact us now.

NEWS UPDATE (23/06/17):

The following dates for the dockers’ strike has been CANCELLED:

• 23h, 26th, 27th of June at odd hours CANCELLED.

However the following dates of june and july still remain active:

• 29th and 30 th of June and 3th, 4th, 6th and 7th of July at odd hours ACTIVE.

The Smart team will keep you updated about this matter. For further details please contact us now.

Exporting stone fruits from Spain, the Smart commitment.

Smart has started the export of stone fruits, our greatest commitment of this year, as estimates indicated that we are, at least, doubling the volume reached in 2016. (See other successful projects here)

According to FEPEX (spanish federation of associations of producers and exporters of fruits, vegetables, flowers and live plants), the stone fruit production for this year will be of an exceptional quality due to the weather conditions reported during wintertime and this spring. In terms of quantity, it is intended to supply the market demands, avoiding the overproduction such as last year.

We started with the first containers of medlar fruit, shipped to Canada, which will be followed by other stone fruits as popular as plums, nectarines, apricots or peaches.

The plum, whose biggest production comes from Extremadura in Spain, will be shipped from Portuguese ports, whilst the ports of Murcia or Andalucia in Spain are benchmarks for apricots and peaches.

As the main countries of destination for stone fruits, we would highlight Canada, Malaysia and China, which imported stone fruit from Spain for the first time in 2016, after the signing of trade agreements between both countries, becoming Spain the first country in the world licensed to export peaches into Chinese markets. (Do you know about the cold treatment for fruits and vegetables? Find out here!)

We would like to invite fruit producers and exporters and anyone else interested in our fruit campaign, to contact us for counseling support with no further commitment, we would be happy to help you with our experience and knowledge in order to improve significantly your business possibilities.

The Steel Treatment Plant from Madrid to Mexico.

The beginning of 2017 has been a good start for the entire SMART team, as we were selected to move a steel treatment plant from Madrid, Spain to Veracruz, Mexico. (See other successful projects here)

For this project, we moved 4 huge pieces on a break bulk service and 25 40’ Open Top containers (20 IG and 5 OOG).

After our planning and pricing team did an in-depth analysis, comparing different modes of transport, it was decided to move the break-bulk cargo through the Port of  Bilbao and the Open Top containers via Port of Valencia. (Meet the team here)

The biggest pieces were 4 “machine beds” or platforms for cutting and folding steel bars. with 17,5 mts length, 2,6 mts width and 2,2 mts height.

In order to move the shipment from Madrid to Bilbao, the project required special transport vehicles, clearances and escorting at all times. Upon arrival in Bilbao, the pieces were carefully packaged and secured on vessel to prevent any damage caused by maritime transport and weather conditions.

The 40′ Open Top required a strong coordination between the operations team and  the shipping lines to keep bookings of equipment and ensure vessels’ space availability. On the first shipment 10 OTIG and 2 OOG containers departed whilst other 10 OTIG and 3 OOG containers departed on the second shipment. (Do you know which are the top ten largest capacity container ships of the world? Find out here!)

The break-bulk shipment arrived at the Port of Veracruz from Bilbao after 22 days without any delays or any type of damage. The shipment was unloaded at the port and delivered to the warehouse in Veracruz, where some photos were taken for the client.

Some days later, the second shipment arrived, which meant that the Smart team delivered this project 7 days earlier than the date indicated by the client on the original application.

This type of projects requires of a strong expertise and excellent customer relationships and freight forwarders such as Smart have the capacity to address this kind of challenges. The Smart Logistics Group is always willing to help their clients grow their business, there is nothing Smart enjoys more than a successful project and a happy customer. (Would you like to request more information? go here)

The Cold Treatment: ensuring the quality of your products.

At Smart Logistics Group we transport fruits and vegetables with high quality and safety requirements and we know that, according to the regulation of some destinations, the Cold Treatment is essential to meet them.

The Cold Treatment is a process by which the fruit fly plague is controlled. Further Cold Treatment goals are to provide a continuous report of the temperature without breaking the cold chain, and enable the exportation of fruit without fumigation.

Some of the destinations for which the Cold Treatment is mandatory are China, United States and Korea. Nevertheless, other destinations can also perform this procedure if the client requests it. (Are you transporting fruits and vegetables? let us help you)