Logistics service provider Hoyer has completed the audit program for AdBlue distributors by the association of the German automotive industry, VDA.
Although fuel consumption of vehicles is decreasing in many industrialized countries, consumption of AdBlue is increasing—in Germany, it rose by about 10% in the past year. AdBlue is a 32.5% aqueous urea solution used in SCR catalytic converters to reduce nitrogen oxides produced in diesel-engine vehicle exhaust. This technology allows commercial vehicles to meet Euro-5 emissions standards. AdBlue is increasingly available at service stations that have special pumps to fill tanks carried by commercial vehicles.
Hamburg, Germany-based Hoyer says it became the first logistics provider to successfully complete this audit for distributors during the first weeks of 2010. It received a certificate confirming that its logistical services for AdBlue including the necessary management system all conform to the applicable standard ISO 22241. The certificate is valid for three years and describes all audited corporate sectors, all specifications, and business partners.
The company managed to surpass the demands of the standard. In order to ensure complete cleanness of transport containers, all its units are dedicated AdBlue only.
Hoyer has been involved in this business since AdBlue was introduced in 2005, and the business has developed successfully. At first it carried out one transport per month; now, some five years later, the annual volume exceeds 100,000 tonnes. Hoyer’s 40 special-purpose units, consisting of tank containers and semitrailers, carry the product both for manufacturers and their distribution partners.
The tank containers have baffles and a fully calibrated dispensing system. Substantial investments were necessary for the dispensing system and the other requisite special equipment. The dispensing system is built onto the chassis, but the tank containers and trucks need to be specially modified, too.