~ Author: Dana Bucur ~

From acquiring the self propelled vessels for transporting cereals, fertilizers etc on the Danube River, up to conditioning and storage facilities, TRANS EUROPA Group (http://www.teu-group.ro) clearly distinguishes itself from other companies through the quality of its services being on the first place in the 2009 Top of Galatz Small and Middle Sized Companies.

Under the same aegis of management three business units work together:

•    TRANS EUROPA PORT S.A. Galatz
•   AGROPORT S.A.
•   TRANS EUROPA S.A.

These three companies are strategically placed in the East and South-West of Romania covering one of the most important Romanian business areas, area bordered by the Danube River, from Galatz to Braila (East of Romania) and up to Drobeta Turnu Severin (South-West of Romania), thus, the agricultural producers, inputs suppliers etc, can dispose of the hole range of commercial and port services.

Hereafter, a short presentation of the three companies:

TRANS EUROPA PORT S.A. Galatz, founded in 1996, with branches in Galatz, Braila and Drobeta Turnu Severin Ports, has as objects of activity: handling, port operations and storage, as well as cereals operations and conditioning.

In GALATZ, this company has a cereals Silo with a total capacity of 30,000 to and a built area of 4,162.02 m2, with multiple facilities:
-    Activities on water:        loading/unloading ships of up to 5,000 to/dwt;
-    Activities on land:         loading/discharging railcars, usual and broad railways;
-   Loading/discharging trucks of all capacities.

By the networks of roads and railways, the location offers a connection with the whole country, as well as with the whole territory of Moldavian Republic, Russian Federation and Ukraine. The working place is specialized in handling cereals, with the facility to store and transit from railcars for broad railway in railcars for usual railway and the other way round.

In BRAILA, the activity of TRANS EUROPA PORT S.A. GALA?I – BRAILA BRANCH, consists of the following objects:
•    loading/unloading of the vessels;
•    stowing goods;
•     lashing goods;
•    storing goods

The company has an operational berth (Berth 24) with an active length of 102 m, having a vertical landing pier, with landing fenders, allowing river and sea vessels operations up to the maximum allowable draught on the maritime Danube (23 feet).
Due to the company’s continuous activity increase, through the volume increase of the operated goods and their diversifying, the development of the operating/storage spaces on the platform was required, by making a concrete platform, inside port precinct, for storing general goods with an area of 2,700 m2, on which a storage place for fertilizers was created and by making a platform for storing laminated products on the waiting quay, down stream.
The operated goods: cereals, meals, stone, iron plates, fertilizers, prefabricated products, brick, sugar.

The operating rate is between 700 and 1,000 to/24  hours, depending on the goods’ nature, means of transport and type of handling operation.

In DROBETA TURNU SEVERIN, the commercial Port has:
•    vertical quay of grate capacity with a length of 300 ml with operating possibilities on three berths at the same time;
•    waiting berths with a length of 423 ml;
•    wintering berths with a length of 375 ml;
•    executing building, ground floor + 1 floor (Ac = 188 m², Ad = 376 m²);
•    two cranes of 16 tf x 32 m;
•    one portal crane of 5 tf x 32 m;
•    concrete platform for goods handling and storing of  13,725 m²;
•    cereals storage space with a capacity of 3,000 to.

AGROPORT S.A. currently has, in TRANS EUROPA Braila Port, a storage capacity made up of a silo with 4 metallic cells of 1,100 TO wheat each (810 to barley, 650 to sun flower, 950 to corn) each and a storage capacity in 6 barges of 1,500 to wheat each (1,100 to barley, 1,000 to sun flower, 1,400 to corn, 1,000 to sun flower meal) as well as three storehouses of 500 TO each.

The cereals can be taken over through two unloading platforms from specialized railway cars, trucks or river/sea vessels, and the delivery can be made either directly in the sea/river vessel, or in specialized railway car or trucks.

The take over and delivery capacity is of 120 to/hour, the silo having conditioning equipment for the stored cereals with forced ventilation or recirculation, fanner and drier with a drying capacity of 600 to/24 hours.
Each cell has a centralized system of monitoring the stored cereals temperature. The company ha a lab for cereals and an electronic weigher of 50 to with which the goods reception and delivery is made. The company ensures also cereals acquisition services, at the request of the port services’ beneficiaries, by order.

Besides the activity with cereals, AGROPORT S.A. company imports complex quantities of fertilizers that are packed in bags of 50, 500, 600 and 1,000 kg with two packing equipments of high capacity and are distributed throughout the whole country. The company has 4 storehouses and a covered area for storing fertilizers throughout the year.

TRANS EUROPA S.A. has three self propelled vessels “SPERANTA 1″, “SPERANTA 2″ and “SPERANTA 3″ with navigation and communication equipments of the highest technical level. Through its specific management, TRANS EUROPA S.A. ensures transports of short standing being responsible fort the integrity of the transported goods.

The maximum capacity: 84.948 to / 1,087.247 to / 935.864 to.

With normal navigation conditions, the transport standings are:

• Galatz (Constanta) – Russe:             2 days
• Galatz (Constanta) – Novi Sad:         7 days
• Galatz (Constanta) – Budapest:         9 days.

All three companies have certification of EN ISO 9001:2001quality management system (this system is applied also in the field of river transport services on internal waterways). The certification was made in conformity with the TUV CERT certification and auditing procedures.

All persons interested in the activity of these companies are invited to contact us on the e-mail address: teu@teu-group.ro or on the phone number: +40 - 236.416.204 or fax number +40 - 236.460.838.

Posted: 5 February 2010 under Dana Bucur articles, Europe, Romania.
Comments: none

Author: Matt Cawood

Via: farm Weekly

THE business of growing, supply and consuming food in the United Kingdom creates about 30 per cent of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report.

Joint contributors to the study, “How Low Can We Go”, the Food Climate Research Network (FCRN) and WWF, say that driving down this emissions profile will need to go further than just technological solutions, but also address how and what the UK population eats.

Two-thirds of UK emissions are related to the food supply chain, the study found, with the remaining third due to land-use changes like deforestation. 

The authors considered all food-related emissions sources, including those generated from food imports into the UK. About three-quarters of land-use change emissions were considered to come from the production of beef and sheepmeat, mostly overseas.

For the UK food industry to play a meaningful role in the UK’s desire to cut total emissons by 80 per cent by 2050, the report’s authors argue that the sector’s own emissions need to fall by 70 per cent in the same time frame.

“… a focus on one solution only will not lead to the reductions that are needed,” the report’s introduction says.

“Single measures, such as the elimination of meat and dairy products from our diet, or the decarbonisation of the supply chain, or the development of technologies to eliminate enteric methane emissions will not by themselves cut emissions by 70 per cent.”

“If the UK food chain is to make a proportionate contribution to the UK’s target … then policy makers will need to put in place a combination of measures that change not only how we produce and consume food, but also what it is we consume.”

The report calls for collaboration between producers, processors, retailers, NGOs and government in implementing across-the-board change in the food system.

The report sprang out of a 2008 study by the FCRN, which found that food supply and consumption accounted for 19 per cent of UK emissions.

The new report expanded on this figure by including agriculturally driven land-use changes in the UK and overseas.

Source: http://fw.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/agribusiness-and-general/general/uk-food-system-emissions-higher-than-thought/1729911.aspx?src=enews

Posted: 28 January 2010 under Agribusiness worldwide, Europe.
Comments: none

A very interesting article written by Mr Ionut Popescu for the published edition of Capital.

Below a short translation.

‘So, after the Greek experience, some people’s willingness that Romania should get faster into the euro area by relaxing the required conditions, has proven to be just a dream.

Since the introduction of the euro, no country has had problems as big as Greece currently has. It circulated scenarios unimaginable a year or two ago: Greece to come out of the euro area, incapacity to pay and alike. Something like this is unlikely to happen. The Greeks seem to have bet wrong: they thought that the fraternal countries of Europe, which through their veins ‘flows’ euro also, will jump immediately to help them stay calm on the beach. European finance ministers have given the Greeks a short answer: do not even think! You must solve yourselves the problems. But in what situation is Greece? The budget deficit rose last year to 12.7% of GDP. Comparing with Romania, here the deficit was within the expected target by 7.3%, and it is expected to fall this year to 5.9. Greek public debt is greater than all their GDP: 113%. Romania’s public debt is less than 30%!!! Among the lowest in Europe. The European standard, under which we should keep for joining the euro, is 60%. In fact, even if it sounds strange, the low share of public debt is the only criterion to adopt the euro our country is already met (…)’.

Please follow all Romanian contents on http://www.capital.ro/index.php?section=articol&screen=index&id=130862&newsletter_link=1&utm_source=newsletter_saptamanal&utm_medium=email.

Posted: 26 January 2010 under Europe, Romania.
Comments: none