One of 1,000 truckloads of pipe for Naftogaz delivered in a global operation carried out by Pennsylvania-based Logistics Plus and Vorex USA. (Company photo)
In a recent interview with Ukraine Rebuild Newswire, a news site founded by respected foreign correspondent Adam Brown, Logistics Plus COO Yuriy Ostapyak shares details of a complicated, sometimes dangerous mission to deliver four shiploads of pipe from Asia to Ukraine.
The joint operation between Logis-ukraines-port-of-chornotics Plus and Vorex, LLC, an American oil and gas equipment supplier that won the contract to supply the pipe to Ukrainian state gas producer Naftogaz, entailed $100 million worth of gas pipes, delivering $100 million worth of gas pipes, weighing over 22-thousand tons, to hundreds of sites in Ukraine in a complex effort that involved filling and then offloading four break bulk ships onto 1,000 trucks to avoid anti-ship mines and missile attacks. The entire project took 14 months to order, fabricate, and prepare, then eight months to deliver.
“It’s hard to think of a more complex operation from all my years in the business,” said Fedor Zakusilo, the Ukrainian-American founder and president of Vorex USA, who started out in the oilfield supply business in 2000. “At times, the staff was pushing it dangerously hard, and we had to rein them in – people were actually unloading pipe while a factory just across the road was exploding from a Russian attack. The dedication to getting the job done was off the charts.”
“Everyone was quite on edge throughout this operation,” said Chief Operating Officer Yuiry Ostapyak, a Ukrainian-American who, at 39 years of age, has worked for 20 years for the Erie, Pennsylvania-based Logistics Plus. “This was definitely one of the biggest logistics challenges we have seen – it’s one that a lot of companies would have shied away from.”
“I think the future in logistics will go to the companies that learn to find a way to say ‘yes’ quicker, even as circumstances get more and more difficult,” Ostapyak said. “When the war broke out, many Western companies were running away. We were running toward Ukraine, to help. That attitude will become increasingly essential in the future.”
You can read the entire story online at https://www.ukrainerebuildnews.com/urn-behind-the-scenes-logistics-plus-describes-the-delivery-of-100-million-worth-of-gas-pipe-from-china-to-war-time-ukraine/.
About Ukraine Rebuild Newswire
Ukraine Rebuild Newswire is the brainchild of Adam Brown, a foreign correspondent with 35 years of experience in Latin America, West Africa, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia for The Associated Press and Bloomberg News. His work has appeared on the front page of virtually every major newspaper in the world and he has appeared on CNN, BBC, ABC, CBS and elsewhere from Afghanistan, Kosovo and many other wounded places.
About Vorex USA
Wherever there’s oil and gas, Vorex USA has the equipment and expertise you need to extract and transport it. They distribute products for more than 40 North American and European manufacturers in more than 15 countries around the world. Its goal is to provide the expertise to help you meet any technical challenge. Their products meet the industry’s highest standards and they deliver them on schedule, at the lowest cost to you. Learn more at usavorex.com.
About Logistics Plus, Inc.
Logistics Plus, Inc. (LP) is a 21st-century logistics company and a leading worldwide provider of transportation, warehousing, fulfillment, global logistics, business intelligence, technology, and supply chain solutions. LP works in the background to help businesses manage their supply chains in an ever-changing world. Founded in 1996, today LP has annual global sales of over $500M with more than 1,000 employees located in 50+ countries worldwide. LP is recognized as one of the fastest-growing privately-owned logistics companies, a top 3PL provider, a top 100 logistics company, a top freight brokerage and warehousing provider, and a great place to work. With a Passion For Excellence™, its employees put the PLUS in LOGISTICS by doing the big things properly, plus the countless little things that together ensure complete customer satisfaction and success.
