TrenStar Inc. (Denver) purchased the industry’s second largest returnable aluminum container fleet from Firestone Polymers LLC (Akron). TrenStar will manage the synthetic rubber producer’s entire returnable container operations for 10 years, providing reverse logistics and account management services, handling and cleaning, maintenance and repair. TrenStar will outfit the 55,000 containers with barcodes and use its container management software to track and manage the distribution of synthetic rubber from Firestone Polymers plants in Lake Charles, La., and Orange, Tex.
TrenStar announced that it intends to start a neutral industry pool of containers for synthetic rubber producers. The container pool will enable shared operational efficiencies and cost savings through reduced capital requirements and lower, more predictable fixed operating expenses.
“We see the potential and understand the value of industry pooling,” said Firestone Polymers President John Vincent. “But in the short term, outsourcing to TrenStar means that our day-to-day container operations and demand requirements will be managed by a more focused provider with an improved tracking system. We are assured of availability of containers and have the ability to realize tremendous savings through increased container utilization and supply chain efficiencies. TrenStar will constantly evaluate and deliver the best technologies and services so that we can concentrate on strengthening our competitive focus.”
