April 2011 - Lighthouse

Intermodal South America 2011

Intermodal South America is the leading integrated exhibition and conference event for international trade, logistics, transport and cargo handling in Latin America.

The event offers over 450 exhibitors from all over the world, presenting new products, the latest equipment’s and technology innovation and a vast conference program, providing the unique opportunity and experience for more than 45 thousand professionals.

Siby Kurian, General Manager Sales & Marketing along with Roshmon Manoli, Team/Route Development Manager North America and Chandrakala, Management Trainee CSS Group, headed the CSS Group delegation.

Visitor’s profile:

Industry/Manufacturing sector: Automotive industry; Petrochemicals/chemicals industry; Electrical industry; Machine manufacturing; Metals processing and refining; Household appliance; Research and development; Other manufacturing industry

Wholesale/retail: Super marts/chain stores; Food and perishables; Textile and garments; Biological and medical industry; Miscellaneous industry

Service sector: Freight forwarders/3PLs; Road transport companies; Railways; Air cargo; Private transport companies; Maritime shipping and ports; Other logistics services

Government agencies
Trade associations, institutes
Press and trade media

Key Facts and Figures:

Trade Exhibition – Where the key players of South American logistics, transport and cargo handling meet.

28,000 sq.m. Exhibition
Over 450 suppliers from all over the world
Over 45 thousand professional visitors from all over South America

Exhibitor’s profile:

Freight transport system: Freight Transport; Dredging; Combined transport systems; Logistic system for ports and navigation; Logistic system for the air cargo industry; Maintenance and repairs; Security systems

Telematics, logistics, e-commerce (communications, data processing, control): Communications systems; Data processing systems; E-commerce and e-business systems; Transport control and DP systems; Integrated traffic management systems

In-House Transport And Material Flow Systems; Interfaces: Transport packaging, freight securing; Storage, conveying and distribution facilities; Facilities for loading bays and terminals (interfaces between internal and external material flow)

Projects At A Glance

CSS Group’s Sales team Jebel Ali was contracted to move four Pressure vessels. These were transported from the client’s yard to Jebel Ali port and were then loaded onto the Break-bulk vessel on a direct delivery basis for discharge at Kandla Port. The cargo included Slug Catcher – 164.8 Tons (31 length x 6 width x 7 height meters), Production Separator – 157.61 Tons (31 length x 6 width x 7 height meters), Dehydrator – 68.8 tons (26.7 length x 4.25 width x 4.3 height meters) and Degasser – 14 tons (10.1 length x 3.32 width x 3.42 height meters). The operation extended for three days started from 9th to 11th March 2011. The movement included the use of special transport equipment’s like Hydraulic trailer and Dolly trailer to transport these units to Jebel Ali port. The whole critical operation was supported and coordinated by the CSS staff onsite to ensure smooth operation. This Project movement is yet another example of the exemplary services provided by CSS Group.

CSS Extends ITS Logistics Capabilities

With diverse interests in logistics and freight forwarding within the UAE, the CSS Group continues to expand and add to its capabilities. The company has recently, for example, entered into an alliance with Southampton based Peters & May to provide specialised services in yacht and marine logistics.

The joint initiative is already proving to be mutually beneficial, and earlier this year CSS was tasked with coordinating the door-to-door delivery of a luxury Technomar Nadarda 24 yacht from Genoa to Jebel Ali. CSS handled export clearance, supervision of loading, the provision of a cradle for the yacht and delivery into Dubai.

In January 2011 alone, CSS and Peters & May handled the shipment and clearance of more than 12 yachts and boats in Dubai. ‘We are looking forward to an exponential increase in the volume of business, due to the boat shows in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi,’ says Ken Dinnadge, newly appointed Vice President, Business Development. ‘We expect to be the preferred logistics supplier to many manufacturers and race teams.’

CSS is also looking to develop, together with its network partners across the world, a global ships spare parts service, and is further planning to offer regional heavy lift transport services.’This is an initiative we are planning to start in the near future in Abu Dhabi, taking into consideration the huge developments taking place in that part of the UAE,’ adds Dinnadge.

One particular area of focus for CSS over the coming year will be the provision of global shipping and logistics services for new and used construction machinery and equipment. As a recent example of its capabilities in this sector CSS was recently appointed to secure a suitable vessel to load and ship a large consignment of Caterpillar dump truck machines from Mumbai to Jebel Ali on behalf of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers.

Since being established as a ‘one man band’ by Chairman T. S. Kaladharan in 1995, CSS has grown to become a diverse logistics business employing around 750 people worldwide. The group is ranked as one of the leading NVOCCs in the UAE, and the import and export of LCL and FCL containers is still at the heart of the CSS business. In 2010, CSS handled around 16,000teu of import containers and over 8,000teu of export container loads through its Jebel Ali facility, representing a significant increase over 2009 levels.

‘Being an independent service provider means we can source the best route, through the best carrier, for the best price,’ says Dinnadge. ‘But, while we are independent, we also benefit from having a global network through relationships with other companies in different parts of the world.’

Ritchie Bros. Conducts Record – Breaking $57M Unreserved Dubai Auction

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers, the industrial auctioneer, conducted a record-breaking auction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates last week (March 8 – 9), selling $57m of heavy equipment and trucks—the highest gross auction proceeds ever generated from a Dubai auction.

The auction also set new Dubai site records for on-site and online bidder registrations. In total, more than 800 unique bidders from 59 countries participated, competing for the 2,340 heavy equipment items and trucks sold. Buyers from outside the United Arab Emirates purchased close to 60% of the equipment in the auction ($32m worth).

Of the 2,340 heavy equipment items and trucks sold on behalf of more than 240 consignors in last week’s Dubai auction, there were 20 late model Caterpillar 777D rock trucks, which sold for a combined $15.7m to buyers from Australia, Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

Ritchie Bros. also conducted several other multi-million dollar unreserved auctions last week in Fort Worth, Texas; Toronto, ON, Canada; Saint Aubin Sur Gaillon, France; Olympia, WA, USA and Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Strategically positioned and Head Quartered in Dubai UAE, CSS Group has become a name to reckon within its own field of knowledge and has created its own trademark and brand name when it comes to providing a complete customised new and used construction equipment shipping and logistics support services to manufacturers, distributors Auction houses and their associated clients when dealing with of all types of new and used heavy construction equipment. CSS’s ability to supply this demanding sector with innovative logistical solutions for new and used equipment is recognised throughout the world and we are proud to be considered as the prime option for most of the leading manufacturers. At CSS We offer a complete range of logistics management services – IT Systems, inventory management, warehousing and operations management.

Watch out for the next auction in Dubai, UAE on May 10th and 11th 2011, log on to www.rbauction.com for more details. For enquires email: ship-heavy-equipment@cssdubai.com

CSS Annual Staff Party

CSS Group celebrated its 16th anniversary staff party at The British Club in Abu Dhabi on Friday 1st April, 2011.The annual party began at 8.30 pm with the employees and their family members arriving at the venue. The evening commenced with the opening remarks from the CSS Group Chairman, T.S. Kaladharan. On this auspicious occasion the employees who had completed 10 years of service, Ambili Don, Vasudevan Nambiar, Vinod Kumar Rajendran and Nelson David were honored for their valuable service. The senior management felicitated the highly anticipated employee of the year was announced, Ajo Andrews for year 2009 and Sujith Valavath for year 2010. This was followed by the performances by the employees and their family members, which included dance, songs and skits. With the dance floor packed throughout the evening and the DJ playing the latest hits the night turned out be one of a kind.

On behalf of CSS Group Chairman and the senior management we are thankful to our title sponsor of the event Emirates Airlines and all our valued associates who had sponsored the prizes for the CSS 16th Anniversary Annual Staff Party. A special thanks goes to the Organizing committee, Amith Horra Marketing Manager CSS, Deepu S. Dev, Marketing coordinator, Chandrakala, Management trainee and to all of the CSS Staff who assisted with the overall operations for the event. Thank you.

Devas Holidays – Completing One year of Success

Devas holidays is Stepping into the second Year of Success. Spearheading the travel and tour industry with its unmatched professionalism, Devas has remained as the premier choice during its first year of operations. Devas Holidays has indisputably been one among the top emerging leaders in the Travel & Tourism sector. With three branch offices strategically located in the prime business hubs of India (Lucknow, Delhi, Kolkata), they have been tapping the domestic travel towards South India & also the Corporate Travel within India and abroad. On this occasion Team Devas extends its whole hearted gratitude to all their patrons and well wishers for the continued support. As part of a diversification process, Devas holidays are now focusing on the inbound traffic towards India from the rest of the world.

As their initial step towards this goal, Devas Holidays has opened a new office in Moscow, Russia to tap the booming potential of Indian Tourism in the Russian markets. Svetlana Saakyan has joined “Devas Holidays” as Business Development Manager; Russian Operations whose wealth of experience and tremendous enthusiasm will help spur the continued growth of business in the region.”

Svetlana Saakyan comes to the Devas holidays from Grand Tours Voyage Company, Russia where she was the Manager in Sales. She has more than 4 years of business management experience in the Travel & Hospitality industry. She will be based in Moscow.

Very soon Devas will expand their presence in India by bringing up a branch office in Mumbai as well to cater to the domestic and corporate travel requirements of their clients in this region.

UAE Ministry Of Foreign Affairs – DP World

Public – Private Counter Piracy Conference

An international conference was held in Dubai from April 18-19 at the prestigious Mina A’Salam, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai under the patronage of his highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed and Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.

The event brought together high-level government and industry leaders, as well as recognized experts in the area of maritime security, information systems, international law and economic development, to share experiences and strategies and to identify compelling opportunities for multilateral action. Piracy has an enormous financial and human cost and the problem is growing in both scope and scale. The counter-piracy conference aimed to broaden the discussion, highlight key impediments to action and develop partnerships between industry and governments to help create viable counter-piracy strategies.

The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and DP World were pleased to invite the only freight forwarder CSS Group to this invitation only conference. Ken Dinnadge, VP Business Development attended this significant conference and he added, “CSS Group is highly honored and thankful to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and DP World for inviting us to attend this important conference. It was an excellent avenue to discuss the issues on hand with high-level delegates as well as to promote CSS Products and Services. It was truly an exceptional international conference and we look forward to attend more of the same in the near future.”

World ports & Trade Summit

The World Ports and Trade Summit 2011 was held from 28th – 30th of March at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. The summit addressed the challenges, trends and opportunities emerging from the current macro-economic outlook to help provide a clearer picture of the industry’s recovery schedule. More than 40 international maritime business leaders and experts, including senior figures from international port associations, addressed delegates over the course of the three day World Ports and Trade Summit. Headline speakers from the Pan-Arab region included Captain Abdul Wahad Al Diwani of Abu Dhabi’s National Transport Authority, Captain Feisal Saad of Ras Laffan Port, Qatar and Tony Douglas, CEO, Abu Dhabi Ports Authority.

The World Ports and Trade Summit also featured an international exhibition, hosted tours of port facilities in the UAE in addition to an open question and answer session with the management team of Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, training workshops and a series of roundtables. Ken Dinnadge, VP Business Development CSS Group participated in this summit to ensure that Consolidated Shipping Services and its products and services were presented to generate new business opportunities globally. According to Ken “Given the truly global nature of the industry, which increasingly relies upon unhindered international trade and standardized regulations, this conference catered to the full spectrum of marine industry stakeholders, from economists to terminal operators and shipping companies to cargo owners, freight forwarders and investors.”

Earth Hour At CSS Go Beyond An Hour

Across the world, every March 26, iconic landmarks turn off their lights and unnecessary electrical appliances between 8.30pm and 9.30pm in a mark of solidarity and as a call for action against global warming. CSS Group Offices across the world joined hands for this noble cause and switched off the lights and computers for one hour during their prescribed lunch hours making sure that it will not affect the operations whilst contributing to the Earth Hour. In addition to this we reinforced the thought to our employees mentioning the importance of the Earth Hour that it is not intended to just turn off the lights for one hour every year however; the initiative is intended to draw the attention of people and establishments so that they can work together for the benefit of themselves and their planet, and that everyone can make a difference.

Dubai residents and businesses achieved the highest energy savings and lowest carbon dioxide emissions in UAE to date during the 60-minute Earth Hour blackout on Saturday night. The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority announced that in one hour Dubai beat its own Earth Hour record and saved 204,000 (kW/h) of electricity and reduced carbon emissions by 102,000kg. As an organization we are proud to say that we have done our part to make this global event a grand success at office as well employees showing their corporate social responsibility by switching of their lights at home.

It dates back….

2007 in Sydney, Australia: when 2.2 million individuals and more than 2,000 businesses turned their lights off for one hour.

2008, 50 million people across 35 countries/territories participating.

2009, hundreds of millions of people took part in the third Earth Hour. Over 4000 cities in 88 countries/territories.

2010, the biggest Earth Hour ever. A record 128 countries and territories joined the global display of climate action.

The Kalikkalam – CSS UAE Open Badminton Tournament

CSS has been proactive in promoting sports and cultural activities with the Keralite society in the UAE. The 2nd edition of CSS Kalikkalam UAE Badminton Tournament was proudly sponsored by CSS as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility. The Kalikkalam family club was initiated by a group of Badminton enthusiasts with the objective of playing badminton and to identify and develop sports and cultural talents of its members and community. From its humble beginnings with 24 families the club today has got a membership of over 130 families. The club has got two indoor courts which can be converted as an auditorium to seat up to 1500 guests apart from the Conference hall, Gymnasium, Library, kids play area and meeting rooms. The Kalikkalam CSS UAE Open Badminton Tournament was held from 10th March, 2011 to 25th March, 2011. It witnessed all the top class badminton players from around the UAE and there were a total of 180 players from more than 10 countries- India, Pakistan, Srilanka, Philippines, China, Korea, Syria, Denmark, Nepal, France participating in various sections.

FOOTBALL Tournament

On March 11th, 2011 the Etisalat Academy hosted the Nellara 7’s Football tournament. The event showcased 36 teams from the UAE representing different colleges and clubs in India. The team representing SD College, Alappuzha, Kerala was sponsored by CSS Abu Dhabi, and it was with much joy that we watched it defeat the strongest teams in the tournament. Unfortunately, the final match which had all in attendance on the edges of their seats, ended in a penalty shoot out with the sponsored team losing. Dressed in CSS colors they were a true representative of CSS, its core values and its employees through the hard work and camaraderie that they showcased throughout the duration of the match.

Are You Green At Heart?

Words often take on different meanings depending on how, when and where they are used. I am reminded of the adjective “good”. Since my youth, “wicked”, and “bad” have all been used to mean good. Recently, on YouTube, I saw an international old time pop hit by Irish singer Feargal Sharkey entitled “A good heart these days is hard to find” and I wondered how I would update this song title. “Bad” or “Wicked” did not seem to fit the bill. However my answer soon sprung to mind. No longer should it be “a good heart” it should be “a green heart”.

All of us have been prompted to think and discuss green but do we do anything about it or do we just pay lip-service to it?

We take green for granted in the same way it is easy to take the good gestures of others for granted. But we ignore them at our peril because once we stop seeing good and green we have ceased to grow.

Green quotations are uplifting. For example ponder on these: –

“As long as you are green you are growing, as soon as you are ripe you are past your prime”. (Ray Kroc).

“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver”. (Martin Luther).

Green obviously symbolizes, fertility, richness, cool and clear surroundings, where we are at one with nature. But where should we start this Green revolution drive?

If somebody asks me this question my answer would be… from the heart itself.

Our true good green hearts will have a beneficial impact both at work and at home. “Green fingers are an extension of a verdant heart”. (Russell Page).

In this positive sense, within our workplace environment, it means that you have brought in with you an aura of buoyant and cheerful energy. This is happening because you are glowing with the green shoots of life in your core – your heart. If you do not have this “green joy of life” in you then you will have a negative impact on all your colleagues. This is why, if we all think green, we will help motivate each other when we have occasional down days. This approach, even in hard times, gives us steadfast courage to look forward to the spring.

“The forest pine stays green in winter displaying wisdom in hardship”. (Norman Douglas).

In middle management a green heart mentality will bring stability, balance and optimism.
Transparency, openness, care, compassion and emotional control are all qualities which are focused within a green culture.

Interestingly the next line of Feargal Sharkey’s song underscores our need, even with green hearts, to understand we have to cherish our abilities in order to achieve success. Each of us is special. Each of us is unique. No two green buds on any plant are identical. This is why even with my new song title, I would still finish as the original was sung.

“A green heart these days is hard to find, so please be gentle with this heart of mine”.

I am sure if we are green, good and gentle we will be so much the better for it. Remember, “Nature’s first green is worth more than gold as it is the beginning of life”.

Cloud Computing

In ancient days one server or hardware is utilized for a single activity with a single operating system running on it; in most cases companies used to invest huge amount of money and utilize up to 50% or less of the total capacity of the hardware for that single process. The network administrators were forced to buy much such hardware for various activities. They were forced to buy minimal capacity hardware and later face the difficulty of upgrading to a higher version. Those days are gone with the introduction of cloud computing which is simple and easy and enables you to utilize your hardware to its maximum with the use of virtualization.

What is Virtualization: Virtualization means creating logical systems inside a single hardware, for example you may have one windows operating system and one Linux operating system in a single hardware.

Cloud computing is an internet based computing which shares application, resource, infrastructure or data with the help of virtualization. The main advantage of cloud computing is its minimal cost and hassle free maintenance, availability of world class technological software in very low cost. There are many companies now support cloud computing like the NEC. Recently SAP and NEC had come up with a comprehensive solution on SAP ERP for its customers. Oracle also gives powerful cloud services in many forms such as platform, software, infrastructure etc. Microsoft’s Cloud Power is another platform for cloud computing which invites enterprises to avail their awesome services. Others in this stream are Google, Amazon, Salesforce.com, RightScale, Cisco, Rackspace and Dell

From this technological advancement its evident that in the future cloud computing will lead the businesses; regardless of the business size and can be availed and standardized its operations with leading ERP systems from Oracle, Microsoft, SAP etc.

CSS Clothing Drive 2011

On March 1st 2011, CSS initiated the first ever Clothing drive as part of the CSR activities within the organization. Homeless people and low income families need all types of gently used clothing, particularly warm clothes and coats for cold weather, formal clothes (to attend job interviews), and shoes (which frequently wear out). It’s helpful if donated clothing is clean and reasonably wrinkle-free. A clothes drive is a fun way to make it easier for would-be donors to make a difference, particularly if you live in a multi-resident building, work at a large office, or belong to a civic club, church, temple or mosque. Our employees brought those clothes that they don’t wear anymore and we plan to donate to them to the Dubai Charity Center a non-profit organization and to the Japan Consulate Dubai- Relief Efforts for the recent tragedy, which occurred in Japan. Remember, one person’s used clothing is another person’s treasure