The construction industry plays an essential role in society. It provides people with housing, workplaces, transportation infrastructure, and factories. In a report from April 2021, the McKinsey & Company global consulting group stated that the industry accounts for 13% of the world's GDP. The construction business ecosystem is one of the world’s largest and includes players from sectors like machinery, raw materials, and more.

After 2020’s economic downturn caused by the pandemic, the construction industry is slowly regaining its momentum. According to English data analytics and consulting company GlobalData, the global construction sector is set to grow by 5.2% this year. Accordingly, demand for construction materials is growing, and companies need additional transport capabilities to deliver goods safely and on time.

Geosynthetics are polymeric products, commonly known as plastics, that are used in civil engineering for shelter, insulation, or terrain stabilization. Off all construction materials, demand for geosynthetics is growing the most rapidly. Polymers comes in a variety of forms depending on its application, e.g., textiles, grids, nets, membranes, synthetic clay liners, foam, cells, and composites. Due to their versatility, resistance, and durability, they are widely used on construction sites where corrosion and severe weather phenomena are major concerns.

A German producer of geosynthetic materials approached the AsstrA international corporate group with a request to ship of construction foil from Germany to Greece. The project consisted of 61 full-truck loads of plastic foil rolls with a length of 13.5 meters each. Shipments were carried out from mid-March until early May with a 2-week interruption due to holidays.                    

Eugen Monsch

“One challenge was to find the right carrier to deliver this volume of geosynthetic foil to Greece without compromising its quality. Each tautliner truck was loaded with 26 rolls carefully stacked on top of each other. The resulting gross cargo weight was 23.5 tons. We decided to use a single transport company for 80% of the shipments instead of splitting the load among several carriers. We had already worked with this subcontractor on other projects over the years, and they have proven their reliability and professionalism. The client got his goods in top condition and even ahead schedule, due to free capacity and AsstrA’s smooth operations with the carrier,” shares Eugen Monsch, Deputy Branch Manager for Operations in Magdeburg.

AsstrA works with over 160 Customers from the construction material industry and has gained trust from major market players. In the first half of 2021, the international corporate group has delivered 3,500 shipments of construction material to different locations around the world.