As a partner of the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux (UGCB) since 2007, Ziegler Wine & Spirits Bordeaux is in charge of the packaging and transport of wines that will be presented in various events all over the world.
With 80 events in 15 countries and 134 renowned members, the Union des Grands Crus is with no doubt the most important institution dedicated to spreading the reputation of the wines of Bordeaux.
Many times a year, the delegation gathers its members to events all over Asia, America and Europe. For several days, estate owners and directors of operations meet with professionals and amateurs of the wines of Bordeaux.
Each event leads to a tasting in which the wines are served in a precise order, depending on which wine estates are represented and on the consumption habits of the country.
Yearly tastings in 65 cities
‘In New York for example, we would start with white Graves, before following with wines of Pessac. Then we continue with the East of Bordeaux, we go up the Medoc region and finish with the Sauternes. The wines thus need to be set in a certain order and well separated in order to be served at the right temperature’, project manager Olivier Crombez illustrates.
The preparation is done in the warehouse of Ziegler Wine and Spirits in Bordeaux. A few days before the departure of the delegation, they receive all the vintages that will be presented throughout the tour. That’s about ten thousand bottles for the United States alone, with a hundred participating estates and up to twelve tastings per week.
A meticulous organisation
Ziegler’s mission? Prepare for each step of the tour one or several pallets containing the exact number of wines needed for the tasting. In order to do that, Ziegler sorts out and repacks all of the bottles. Each UGCB cardboard box gets a specific label, edited by Ziegler W&S, that states its content and the exact position of the bottles in it.
At the end of the process, the pallet for the Sotheby event in New York opens on a cardboard box containing white Graves and ends on Sauternes, in accordance with the instructions sent by the Union.
Centralised informations
The Primeurs Week organised each Spring in Bordeaux is the peak of this perfectly organised race. ‘Since the wines are still in the ageing process, the châteaus only withdraw their samples 24 to 48 hours before the tasting. We thus need to centralise the wines and sort them all within a very short period of time, knowing that we organise tastings in various places every day”, Olivier Crombez explains.
This sorting and identification task done by Ziegler offers the Union a great visibility on the entire supply chain, with checks at every delivery and many possibilities of pallet control.
Once the delegation has left for Los Angeles, Hong-Kong or Vietnam, the estate owners can come to Ziegler if they’re worrying about an eventual omission. ‘There is always something unexpected that comes up in the event industry, especially when hundreds of potential clients are gathering in a prestigious venue on the other side of the world. But in terms of tastings, there is no margin for error’, Olivier Crombez sums up.
‘This perfectly organised logistics process is the result of many exchanges between the UGCB and our offices in Bordeaux. We are proud to share this accomplishment today’, Ziegler Regional Executive Manager Quentin Grandière comments.
We wish you all the best for this new year coming !
Our teams remain at your disposal for any question.
Onboard, edition winter 2019/2020
France is known as the land of love and of wine. But thereare many incredible facts behind all the clichés. Did you know, for example, that under French law you are not permitted to call a pig Napoleon? And it’s no cliché that France is Germany’s closest and most important partner in Europe. There is no other country that has such active interaction, bilateral exchange and cooperation in the economic area with Germany. The relationships between Switzerland and France are also varied and close. The two countries are linked by a common language and by economic, cultural and human interaction. France is Switzerland’s fourthmost important trading partner. With 60 branches of its own, ZIEGLER France is the largest subsidiary in the entire group. Today we are able to look after your shipments with our own teams across the board. Find out in this edition how logistics can open up the beauty of France to you. We hope you enjoy leafi ng through it and reading the articles.
Thorsten Witt,
CEO – Ziegler Switzerland & Germany
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2019
2018
2017
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“1908: 110 years ago, Mr Arthur J. ZIEGLER created the ZIEGLER company in Brussels, marking the beginning of a success story which has continued to this day.
At the time, the world had only just seen the 19th century come to a close.
It had not yet experienced the tremendously accelerated pace of history of the centuries to come…”
110 Years of Ziegler Group
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Light, durable, corrosion-resistant and cost-effective: aluminium can be found in many products – in motor vehicles and door frames as well as in food packaging or electrical products. Aluminium that is used industrially is transported in heavy bars. These weigh between a good 7 and 15 tonnes – a challenge in terms of their transportation and loading.
Unloading in just one day
The KARST freight forwarding company, which belongs to the ZIEGLER group, is well-known for its logistics expertise. An experienced team of four employees unloaded a shipload of 2,000 tonnes of aluminium bars at the Bendorf Rhine harbour near Koblenz in January 2018 – in just one day!
The perfect port
In Rotterdam, the aluminium bars were loaded onto the inland vessel “Wilhelm D” on 19 January 2018. Four days later, the ship docked at the port of Bendorf. The unloading process was optimally prepared: the KARST team had consciously opted for this port because the cranes on the wharf have a lifting capacity of 40 tonnes – ideal for the heavy bars. At the same time, suitable forklifts were also on site. They brought the metal to the place where the bars are stored until summer. Then they are transported by truck to industrial plants throughout Germany.
Every minute counts
One interesting detail of this unloading process is that, despite flooding, the team managed to discharge the cargo within one day. In the evening, the four logistics professionals looked down with satisfaction on the 2,000 tonnes of aluminium bars.
The Philippines is an agricultural state and offers enormous potential for bioenergy: residues from sugarcane and rice production as well as animal waste can be used as input materials for biogas plants. Several European manufacturers of biogas plants have implemented a pioneering project with local partners. The ground-breaking ceremony for the biogas plant took place in the summer of 2016 – a premiere on the island state.
ZIEGLER also made a contribution towards this: in September 2017, the sea freight team from ZIEGLER Frankfurt / Kelsterbach shipped parts of a biogas plant to General Santos on behalf of its partner in the Philippines. This is a follow-up order. Back in 2016, the ZIEGLER team already shipped numerous containers, including several flat racks (containers without side walls or a roof), from various European suppliers to General Santos for the same biogas project.
The container of the new consignment was loaded in the Netherlands and successfully shipped in October. It was then transported by truck from the port in General Santos City (the southernmost city in the Philippines), to the location of the new biogas plant in the province of South Cotabato.
A good feeling for ZIEGLER’s team: they made a contribution towards the first bioenergy plant and sustainable energy production in the Philippines.
We are pleased to inform of a further development on the South African logistics landscape with the launch on May 1st 2012, of Ziegler South Africa.
The Ziegler network had expanded its footprint in South Africa by investing in March 2010 in a very well reputed logistics provider : Logisticor. Logisticor was established in 2000 and maintains 3 offices in South Africa : Johannesburg (Joburg) (main and head office), Durban (harbor) and Beit Bridge (border to Zimbabwe) which is the service route for 70% of the roadfreight cargo into Sub-Saharan Africa.
Mr Sean Moore is the founder who brought his dynamism to the company and remains at the head of Ziegler South Africa as CEO.
Apart from the name change, there will be no change to the current team, apart from the appointment of a new managing director Mr Paul Lawrence (49), a well-known industry personality who brings several decades of experience.
With this appointment, Mr Sean Moore will focus on key account sales and business development, this resource is considered very valuable for the local brand.
A few of immediate advantages for Logisticor of being Ziegler South Africa include :
- an immediate and larger set of resources at their disposal, not to mention years of experience;
- access to the Ziegler Network including the 11 important Simba offices in China
- immediate access to IT infrastructure
- immediate access to route developments managers who make regular trips to South Africa
After Morocco and Tunisia where Ziegler has its own offices through Ziegler Maroc (Casablanca) and Ziegler Tunisia (Tunis and Tunis Airport) , it is a new step of our development in Africa.