HR Ewell, Inc., a bulk food-grade carrier, announced that it has strengthened its ties with Mexican trucking partner Transportaciones Nacionales e Int. Regias, otherwise known as TNIR, with liquid food-grade products into Mexico. TNIR has committed additional resources for bulk liquid and dry shipments from the United States for destinations in Mexico.
“United States-based shippers tender their orders to HR Ewell, and we truck the load to Laredo, Texas, where the shipment is then coordinated with TNIR for delivery in Mexico,” says Don Thomas, vice president of international and national sales for HR Ewell, based in East Earl, Pa. “It’s a very streamlined process, and HR Ewell handles all of the billing and cross-border coordinating.”
Randy Sheeler, HR Ewell’s vice president of operations, says that with several major chocolate shippers establishing plants in Mexico, the company needed to be available to haul raw inbound materials into Mexico. “TNIR provides us with that level of service,” Sheeler says. “We know when our trailers cross the border, they’re in good hands and never leave the site of TNIR personnel. Once empty, trailers are expedited back to Laredo and crossed back into the U.S. in a timely manner.”
Sheeler says there is a lot of concern in transloading and intermodal shipments into Mexico with regard to security and purity of food-grade products. “Many shippers are willing to truck the products in rather than take a chance of leaving a trailer or container unsecure or allowing natural elements to contaminate the product while transloading,” he says.
