OT- Recommendations for import customs and sea transit companies ?

Would like to import a (new) lathe from Austria but seller will not handle the freight aspects. I've imported a fair amount of machinery in the past but seller always handled shipping. I do have a freight forwarder in Charleston but they seem to be dropping the ball on this.... suggestions ?

I have used Kuehne & Nagel and Schenker for exporting in the past.

We have one in Erie that has grown pretty big in recent years:
Logistics Plus - Transportation, Warehousing, Supply Chain Management
Website shows "international" offerings.

Living in Europe, I can state that this is unfortunately all too common. Sellers generally in Europe do not want to mess with all the paperwork they anticipate will be required to ship something internationally. The EU is not one country and will never be in my lifetime. It makes no difference if the sale is private or say eBay, there are still sellers that will not accept international sales. The solution is simple. Find a consolidating shipper that does international shipping. Then give him the cube and weight of what needs to be shipped along with a physical address and ask for a quote. Most will do this, but there may be a separate charge for crating and palletizing.

steve-l said:

Find a consolidating shipper that does international shipping.

Click to expand...

Our experience has been that those guys make used car salemen look like paragons of virtue. If someone in the overseas location can recommend a company, that would be better.

Milacron said:

Would like to import a (new) lathe from Austria but seller will not handle the freight aspects. I've imported a fair amount of machinery in the past but seller always handled shipping. I do have a freight forwarder in Charleston but they seem to be dropping the ball on this.... suggestions ?

Click to expand...

Germany/Austria?

Last time Luke Hellman and I enjoyed a chat, "Schnurbarrt" Kowloon side, not Lan Kwai Fong, he was running IS/IT for his G'Dad's firm.. and trying to get OUT of it! Not showing on their staff website, so I'd guess he succeeded!

They are still a good outfit, #12 globally.

Hellmann Worldwide Logistics | International Logistics | Spedition

So is their larger competitor ,#2 behind DHL, but DHL is on my s**t list.:

Kuehne+Nagel Homepage | Kuehne+Nagel

Angel Case WAS my go-to, ten years in C&W, more later. But got their teat in the wringer over UK Ministry of Defense rate jiggery or suchlike. Bad move. MoD had been their mainstay, same reason C&W relied on them. Got critical-mission technical goods and spares delivered to East Bum-F**k-anywhere even faster than the Royal Air Force could run a Vee bomber. Superbly packed and cheaper, too.

Once shipped a case of Thor copper/rawhide hammers and other lovely UK-made tools back to my Brother's place, was still money ahead, could have used the purpose-built packing case they did-up to crate it protectively for half-decent furniture, as-is! Literally cases that protected the goods - hammers to Earth station receivers to RADAR spares to bombsights - as if guardian Angels!

"Back in the day" you wanted the Eiffel tower shipped, not knocked down?
Angel Case was who yah called to crate it.

Not sure even GOD could haul it one-handed though! She would have to call the Chief of Engineers. Panama Canal class thingie.

MOL logistics perhaps
You should know them

Peter

Peter from Holland said:

MOL logistics perhaps
You should know them

Peter

Click to expand...

Well known in Asia. Still in travel around the time the wife co-founded "Abacus" with Swires (1988/89?) to end their war with her C&W "TAREX" unit. Mind she had gone on offense and started whippin' 'em! Turned a USD $6 Million loss to a USD$ 6 million profit in under a full year. It's what she does. Their hearts. minds. and funds followed! Part of SABRE now?

Wore part of her performance bonus to our wedding. Colonial Williamsburg, Henry Hacker having been buried there, 1648. Silver Mink of that sort would get you murdered by the greens these days.

I wasn't even aware Mitsui had built-out in Europe!

After my give-a-damn time?
Gettin' older...

SOMEBODY must have actually SHIPPED one of these lathes?
Austria don't consume all that much exclusively in the Pinzgau these days, do they?