Jumbo Shipping, the Dutch maritime heavy lift transport and engineering contractor, and SAL Heavy Lift, the German breakbulk and project cargo specialist, are commencing operations with their joint venture. The Jumbo-SAL-Alliance combines both fleets and all commercial activities, creating a new heavy-lift powerhouse.

Both companies believe the move propels them to a greater level of geographical outreach and commercial capacity. To serve clients worldwide, the joint venture that kicks off today (15 April) acts as the single commercial entry point for its joint sales network of offices and agents in over twenty countries.

Significantly, it handles the complete marketing of thirty highly versatile project cargo vessels with lifting capacities up to 3000 tonnes safe working load (SWL), marking it as the largest fleet in the 800+ tonnes sector. This ensures availability, flexibility and the right transport concept at the right time for customers seeking reliable and high quality shipping solutions.

Also read: BREAKING: SAL and Jumbo are forging a heavy-lift powerhouse

‘This joint venture is a big step for both of us,’ says Michael Kahn, managing director of Jumbo. ‘In the past few years, it became increasingly clear that the benefits of collaboration heavily outweigh the traditional way of doing business. Our client base and interests have changed and to remain an effective global player in our field of activity, you always need to adapt and innovate. Not only on a technical level, but also commercially. We believe that the flexibility and competences that our clients are looking for are best served by SAL’s and Jumbo’s combined assets and knowledge.’

Solution for breakbulk and specialised transportation

The Jumbo-SAL-Alliance offers project and semi-liner services to customers worldwide, with the goal of creating a complete maritime transport solution for both breakbulk and specialised transportation scopes around the globe.

Jens Baumgarten, Director Chartering at SAL Heavy Lift, adds: ‘This collaboration allows us to bring an unrivalled shipping product to market. It provides a solid answer to the needs of big contractors and EPCs as well as manufacturers and forwarders. On one side, we can handle regular or spot-market breakbulk cargoes. On the other, we have the experience and the assets to handle very large and long-term scopes, including arranging third-party tonnage or whatever is needed to make good on our “one-stop-shop” promise. Simply said, we want our customers to be happy during and after each and every project. This way, they will trust us to deliver a new heavy lift solution for them the next time.’

Complementary companies

Jumbo and SAL are highly complementary, both in terms of fleets as well as human resources, both ashore and on board, while sharing many of the same values in terms of quality, safety and solutions focus. This equality makes the joint shipping product easy to combine and market as customers can expect a quality product irrespective of the vessel executing the shipment, the companies state.

‘This strategic collaboration combines engineered transport solutions with a significant fleet of heavy lift vessels,’ states Martin Harren, Managing Director of SAL and the Harren & Partner Group. ‘The Jumbo-SAL-Alliance stands for the best in heavy lift shipping and in complex global transportation. We have a unique team of highly experienced people which can really create value for our customers. From engineering to full-scope project management, by combining our resources we can now provide services that literally exceed any other heavy lift service currently in the market.’

Independent operators and vessel owners

The joint venture was cleared by the German competition authority earlier this month. The two companies share over ninety years of combined experience, are both family-owned and managed and are among the world’s most prominent and technically advanced heavy lift carriers. Both SAL and Jumbo continue as independent operators and vessel owners and both remain active brands in the market.

Felix Peinemann, VP Sales Shipping at Jumbo, concludes: ‘The Jumbo-SAL-Alliance merges the global chartering and marketing activities of both companies, creating one large, joint sales organisation. Both brands retain their market presence in addition to the new set-up.’