From time to time, the team at Transvoras Logistics are asked to manage some unusual and challenging projects, a recent example being a new office set up for a highly awarded media agency in Melbourne and Sydney furnished with heavy furniture specially ordered and manufactured in Bali.
Transvoras coordinated the customs clearance and all the logistics to do with shipping the furniture from Bali to Melbourne and Sydney, including cartage, unpacking of the cargo from the containers, delivery to the site, removing the cargo from wooden crates and disposal of the dunnage (packing wood). This was made seamlessly possible with their network of specialist transport partners including office relocation companies (in this case with experience in handling antiques and museum pieces).
Transvoras’s Operations Manager, Wayne Burr says, “We are finding that more and more people are purchasing whole container loads of furniture overseas, however a major challenge in this particular project was the size of the furniture which ranged in weight from 50kg to 1500kg a piece.”
Wayne says that “challenging jobs aren’t impossible – it’s a matter of finding the right resources to make it happen.”
In both Melbourne and Sydney two 20 foot containers were used to ship bulky items from Bali such as custom made room dividers, tables, square butchers shelves and a reception desk. The largest item weighing 1500kg was a stunning 3.5 metre long boardroom table with a 70 mm thick table top, a single pedestal and a concrete base.
Additional challenges in the Sydney office (pictured) were that the installation had to be done on a Saturday, the large/heavy board room table needed to be installed on the first floor, the office building had a narrow stairwell and furthermore was located on a wharf which had a vehicle weight limit! To get around the wharf weight limit, four individual trucks were used to keep within the weight limit. To access the first floor, a window was removed and a forklift utilised to lift the big board room table into place.
The Sydney installation initially looked like it would take two days, however the whole job was completed in one day, keeping costs and man hours to a minimum.
A great deal of planning goes into these types of projects and needs to start almost a soon as the containers have departed from overseas. The planning needs to take into account many factors including the potential delays due to Customs / Quarantine holds, the timing of the wharf pick up (to avoid wharf storage), finding an appropriate location / crew to unpack the container, careful re-loading / packing of trucks, suitable trucks to match any delivery point limitations, appropriate equipment for the safe unloading / placement of items and provisions for dunnage / rubbish disposal.
Transvoras’s client Victoria McKeown from Atomic 212, Australia’s most awarded media agency in 2017, enjoyed dealing with one person for both the Sydney and Melbourne installations and was very pleased with both teams that delivered the heavy furniture on time and without hassle. “After using tricky flights of stairs, the delivery teams put the furniture safely in place and took the rubbish away. The Sydney team arranged a lifter for the windows, four trucks for the wharf and basically worked all day, unpacking!” Just the type of challenge that the team at Transvoras really enjoy!
Importing custom made furniture? Talk to our expert customs and transport team today for advice on making the process as simple as possible.