SIA Flexitanks 2021 – A Year in Review
2021 was a year like no other with the Covid-19 pandemic and an unprecedented shipping crisis. Thankfully, SIA Flexitanks continued to deliver for our customers.
This year SIA celebrated a fantastic achievement with our 10th Year in Business. As the world’s largest independent Flexitank provider and our continued growth, SIA remain committed to further building our global operations with a commitment to a sustainable environment. We continue to diversify our product range with the introduction of several new products, and we are committed to maintaining our position as an innovative leader in the bulk liquids industry.
Take a look back at the year of 2021, a year of great success for SIA.
2021 – The Year of an Unprecedented Shipping Crisis
In early 2020 when the Covid-19 lockdowns were implemented, orders were cancelled and shipping lines cancelled sailings. The result is a severe container imbalance as thousands of empty containers are in Europe and the US while they are badly needed in Asia. The situation is not helped by congested ports, lack of trucks and over booked rail roads. The good news is that experts are predicting a major improvement by mid 2022 in the shipping congestion and escalating sea freight rates.Key factors Importers & Exporters continue to experience:
- The demand for space and equipment continue to far outweigh the capacity of shipping lines and this situation is predicted to continue well into the new year.
- Port Congestion Surcharges & GRI’s have been imposed by all major shipping lines effective since January 2021.
- Shipping lines continuing to omit ports the lines are also rotating port calls at short notice. Shipping lines cancelling allocations and commitments.
- Coastal transfers of Import and Export cargoes continue to be impacted by the reduced capacity.
- Severe congestion and backlog of containers at most Asian transhipment hubs (Singapore, Hong Kong, Busan & Tanjung Pelepas).
- Port congestion continues to be an issue across the States with key / critical choke points being Oakland, Long Beach, New York & Vancouver.
- All transhipment hubs (be it in Asia or Panama) are experiencing congestion as well, with delays in loading transhipment containers being 2-3 weeks, adding to the delays.
Stuck in the Suez!
March 2021, saw an amazing event in the shipping world when a ship blocked the Suez Canal. The giant container ship that blocked traffic in the Suez Canal was successfully re-floated after a long 6 days and 7 hours. The 1,400-foot-long cargo ship jammed diagonally across a southern section of the Suez Canal, leaving a total of 367 ships, including dozens of container ships and bulk carriers, unable to use the key trading route. SIA had 1,000 flexitanks en-route to Rotterdam in the vicinity but luckily our tanks were through the canal before the incident.
The Evergreen container ship was stuck in the Suez Canal for 6 days and 7 hours
SIA Flexitanks Plant A Tree Project
In February of 2021, SIA were delighted to get involved in The One Million Trees in One Day project. The trees on the land project is a seasonal fixture on farms and in communities across the island of Ireland. Trees on the Land is a cross-border initiative working to establish young native trees across the 32 counties of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Our colleagues in Italy, Malaysia, Houston, Rotterdam and New Zealand also joined in and planted tress in support of the project.
Team SIA Planting Trees for the SIA Plant a Tree Project
The SIA ‘Plant a Tree’ project aligns with our commitment to a sustainable environment. Operating around the world, SIA Flexitanks remain committed to continually minimizing our environmental impact globally. We continue to meet environmental standards and continue to recover and recycle materials where practical and environmentally beneficial to do so. Find out more about our plans for a Sustainable Flexitank Environment.
SIA Flexitanks – A Top Irish Company in USA
March of 2021 saw SIA Flexitanks listed in the Ireland INC US 250 Index 2021, supported by KPMG Ireland. This listing recognizes 250 Irish Companies investing and operating in the US. The list truly reflects the strength and value of Irish FDI in the States which currently stands at $235.7 billion, of which SIA Flexitanks are proud to be listed in due to our business excellence in the United States with our head US office based in Houston, Texas.
SIA Celebrate 10 Years in Business
July saw SIA Flexitanks celebrate an amazing achievement of 10 years in business. What started off with a small team in 2011, we are now a leading provider of Flexitanks in over 70 countries with offices on 4 continents. Following the opening in Ireland and Houston, we formed a great partnership and opened up our office in Port Klang, Malaysia followed by the opening of our office in Pasir Gudang, Malaysia. SIA Flexitanks then opened our operation in Rotterdam, followed by Italy and then in 2019, we opened in Australasia. 2022 will see the our global operations expand even more as we establish SIA Africa.
We are now heading towards operations/ agencies and office in 80 countries. This is a truly remarkable achievement in these days of crisis and uncertainty.– Damien McClean, SIA CEO
Flexitank Leaders in Wine
For the highest end wines, SIA has developed a 40ft flexitank (The Trinity Tank) that is used in either standard containers or in temperature-controlled conditions in a refrigerated unit. The three-pod system allows shippers to load white, rosé and red wine in the same container. With the acute shortage of 20ft containers, the 40ft alternative is increasingly popular with payloads up to 27 metric tonnes.
Flexitanks for Bulk Wine
Related Topic: Flexitanks for Bulk Wine Transport
CEO Interview with International Wine
SIA CEO – Damien McClean, was interviewed by a UK based company; IWC ‘International Wine Challenge’ in the article ‘How Your Shipping Decisions Affect the Quality of Wines‘. Damien once again gave his expert insight on the topic and talked about the advantages of using Flexitanks for wine shipments. Read the full article ‘How Your Shipping Decisions Affect the Quality of Wines’ in the link HERE
“Flexitanks have evolved to offer an efficient and safe method for wine transportation. They are made from virgin polyethylene and the premium flexitanks include an aluminium barrier to preserve the wine quality.”
ILMA Convention
Related Topic: Flexitanks for Lubricant Oils
Innovation at SIA
Innovation is at the core of our company and plays a major role in our strategy and culture. For example, in 2001, our CEO – Damien McClean patented his design of the Multilayer Flexitank and today, over 80% of the market is imitating his design. Our team at SIA remain as innovative as ever and are proud to have launched two of our innovations this past year: The Trinity Tank and the Enviro-Heater. We are committed to maintaining our position as an innovative leader and we continue to develop new and innovative products.
Enviro-Heater
In the first quarter of 2022, we will be relaunching the Enviro-Heater with a lot of upgrades including a temperature regulator. Our customer feedback shows that the Enviro-Heater heats products up much quicker than the existing steam pads even in sub-zero temperatures. The newly modified Enviro-Heater is proving to be a game changer in the heating market.
SIA Enviro-Heater
Trinity Tank
SIA Continue to Expand
As we continue our global expansion we will soon be establishing SIA Africa. We will soon be opening up our own operations in South Africa. South Africa will be our base to develop business throughout the continent of Africa with agencies planned for Senegal, The Gambia and Ghana.
SIA Flexitanks Launch Operations in Africa
NEW Products Coming 2022
Product Diversification is a byword for growth and a way forward for businesses to expand in the right direction to protect our business into the future. These new products will consolidate our position as a leading player in our industry. – Damien McClean, SIA CEO
Static Storage Tanks
SIA have designed, developed and supplied our first monster tank. We are working with an events company to provide potable water storage flexitanks for concerts, festivals and may other events. The tank pictured, is a massive 100,000 litres.
Static Storage Tanks
The SIA Bag-In-Box [BIB] System
![The SIA Bag-In-Box [BIB] System](https://i0.wp.com/siaflexitanks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Image-1-e1644322814270-300x190.jpeg?resize=300%2C190&ssl=1 "Image (1) | SIA Flexitanks")
The SIA Bag-In-Box [BIB] System
Our bag-in-box industry experts approach the customers individually providing the best options for wine, juice, dairy, liquid eggs, sauces, oils or chemicals. Bag-in-box is a packaging system that includes a high-strength multi-layer bag placed in a hard case (cardboard box, barrel, box, etc.). Bag-in-box production is certified according to the highest quality standard. It is the “Mini me” of the flexitank industry. Cutting-edge machinery located in a clean and sterile manufacturing sector allow our customers to receive products that meet Global standards. We will offer a wide range of bag formats that covers all market needs, ranging from 2 litres to 220 litres.
The SIA Collapsible Liquid Containers
Our customers can help the environment and reduce handling costs by eliminating stainless or plastic IBCs (bins) and moving to our disposable FIBC (flexible intermediate bulk container) solution. By eliminating the need to wash using less energy, water and handling time. So not reusing is actually going green!
SIA Collapsible Liquid Containers
Thank you Team SIA
Foremost, I want to personally thank all of our incredible employees across the globe, who are working tirelessly to load our customer’s products, providing a hugely appreciated continuity of business. I am so grateful for their work this past year and thank them for their commitment both this year and moving forward as we navigate increased volumes and opportunities.– Damien McClean, CEO, SIA Flexitanks
Team SIA Global Zoom Call, 2021
‘I would like to thank each and every one of the SIA family for making us the great organisation that we are today. For the last decade, our customers have marvelled at Flexitanks’ ability to deliver the best tanks on time and without hassle. I’d like to take some time to thank the real stars of the show, our employees.’
– Damien McClean, CEO.
Damien McClean, SIA CEO
May the new year 2021 bring you 12 months of success, 52 weeks of laughter, 365 days of fun, 8760 hours of joy, 525,6000 minutes of luck, and 31,536,000 seconds of happiness.
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