Career
Belarusian forests are a renewable natural resource that are the country’s primary national treasure. Woodworking is the country’s leading industry, which includes sawmills and manufacturing plants for plywood, furniture, prefabricated housing and construction material, and matches.
The potential of the Belarusian wooden consumer goods products industry far exceeds domestic demand, and Belarus is a net exporter in this regard. More than 50 countries import wooden products from Belarus, while Belarus imports wooden products from 20 countries.
There are plans to reduce the share of wood imports in the Belarusian wooden products market even further. Some measures are being taken to modernize and build new facilities for woodworking enterprises. Support is provided by both the state and newly attracted foreign investors.
In 2019, Belarus completed the construction of an energy plant that processes woodworking waste. The equipment was delivered from Türkiye due to its high quality, the reliable reputation of its manufacturers, reasonable cost, and ease of logistics.
Over the year, AsstrA international corporate group aided the construction of this site. For the project, the equipment was loaded in Istanbul, Türkiye, and unloaded in Pinsk, Belarus. Depending on the dimensions of the cargo, standard tents, open areas, and specialized vehicles were used. In total, 175 fleet vehicles were involved in the project: 151 standard tents and 24 oversized trucks.
The client chose AsstrA as a transport partner based on the company’s established market presence and global reach, which covered Türkiye via a local office there. Excellent refeferences from customers and partners was an additional factor.
The AsstrA team planned routes to optimize transportation costs and transit time. According to Galina Grel, AsstrA Trade Lane Manager, the project went along two routes.
“The first was a fully land-based trucking route from Türkiye through Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine to Belarus. The second alternative involved sending the trucks by ferry from the port of Haydarpasha, near Istanbul, to Odessa. From there they went on to Pinsk by road,” says Galina Grel.
The Client contacted AsstrA offices in Minsk, Brest and Istanbul 24/7. Due to well-coordinated interaction, unforeseen circumstances during the project were resolved efficiently and on time, with all delivery deadlines met. The client was satisfied with the quality of services and plans further cooperation for the delivery of finished products.
“Regarding the transportation of oversized cargo, the project went smoothly despite force majeure challenges. At the end of April 2019, reconstruction work began on a bridge on the truck route near Pinsk. Transit required obtaining special permits in advance. It was very complicated because there was no alternative route for oversized cargo,” shares Julia Negodovich, a specialist in the AsstrA Wood and Paper Logistics Department.
The repair work was not announced officially. The client learned of it in the local media and passed the information to AsstrA.
“Meanwhile, at the border between Ukraine and Belarus, 3 trucks with cargoes each weighing 36,200 kg with dimensions of 5,800 x 3,500 x 3,800 mm were expected. In order to get across the bridge before closing, the project team turned to the border crossing team for help. The Belarusian customs authorities accelerated the truck registration procedure and the project team quickly coordinated a new fleet schedule with the client. Thus the oversized cargo reached Pinsk before the long bridge repairs began. The good working relationships between the client, account manager, and team made this project a success depsite the challenging conditions,” says Irina Ermakova, Oversized Cargo Department Specialist at AsstrA.
