One year of PSA Breakbulk: record volumes, new cargo, and investments

PSA Breakbulk is a joint venture launched by PSA Antwerp, Felbermayr Group, and Haeger & Schmidt Logistics (HSL) in June 2021. Moreover, the year was characterised by investments in new equipment to handle out-of-gauge (OOG) cargo.

During the company’s first year, record volumes were handled when it came to the steel business, with over five million tons moved throughout the first year. Moreover, the joint venture managed to introduce new cargo streams by, for example, importing rubber for the tire industry in Europe. Stefan Hütten, CDO of HSL, claimed that “switching to breakbulk shipping assisted these producers in securing supplies for their production facilities”.

New projects for PSA Breakbulk

The joint venture is investing significant amounts in the PSA terminal to boost the capacity to handle OOG cargo. A new crane that will allow heavy lifts for cargo weighing between 200 and 750 tons was in fact installed in Antwerp in November. Investments of 1,5 million euros were made to reinforce the floor base by increasing ground pressure capacity to 96t/m2. This project carried out in collaboration with Felbermayr Group, was necessary to create the preconditions for hosting the new massive crane.

PSA Breakbulk is also involved in helping to build a new ethylene cracker facility in Antwerp called Project One. The joint venture has been providing exclusive marshaling and consolidation yard for the new project site, which will be owned by English chemicals company Ineos. “The building site will be supplied just in time with the requisite materials from our terminal over a period of a good four years”, said Dennis Verbeeck, PSA Breakbulk General Manager.

What does the future hold?

Investments in this perspective will be continued in 2023 in order to boost PSA Breakbulk’s two core businesses: project cargo and steel transportation. For the former, two million euros will be invested in the Churchill South Terminal for construction and equipment specifically for sensitive, high-value cargo. For the latter, 1,5 million euros has been allocated for repair and maintenance work as well as relocating the admin gate.

In addition, a 20,000 square metres warehouse will be built next to the industrial goods packaging facility. Moreover, a new Terminal Operating System is expected to be implemented to update the digitisation of the supply chain. All these investments and new projects to expand the terminals aim at divesrifying the cargo handled by PSA Breakbulk.

Finally, 2022 was the year in which PSA Breakbulk acquired BDP International, a logistics company based in Pennsylvania with a presence in over 130 countries. This initiative aims at expanding PSA Breakbulk’s network and reach. As Hutten highlighted, “BDP network overseas is the key to offering integrated door-to-door concept solutions”.