Interview of the week - DCS Liburnus - Italy

Alessio was born in Livorno and has always lived there, spending time amongst ports and shipments, following the steps of his family business. In 1994, in his twenties, he “officially” joined the company in pure port-operations.
During the years Alessio has covered many different positions to broaden his expertise across business areas… but operations remain his first love!
He has two children, Vittorio and Ottavia, and his wife is his greatest support in daily life and business, as she also works in the company.
His favourite activities are hiking, photography and reading books… all possibly done while travelling to discover the world!

Tell us about DCS Liburnus. Who owns the company?

DCS Liburnus was founded in 1976 by my father and his partners. Since 2014 we partnered with DCS Group (www.delcoronascardigli.com) expanding our range of activities. I run the company as VP-CEO and shareholder.

Where are your offices located?

Our HQ is in Livorno and we can count on 57 DCS Group offices located world-wide.

What is DCS Liburnus specialty and service range?

We are focused on the door-to-door moves for EPC contractors, deploying tailor made solutions for our clients. This includes a wide range of services from air / ground / sea transports, heavy lifting and over-size moves to surveys and technical studies.

In-house chartering has always been one of our main activities that is always completed by stow and lashing plans, along with dedicated cargo superintendents during ops.

Our Documentation Dpt offers outsourcing solutions to manage all exchanges between procurement and the selected suppliers, insurance coverage, warehouse in/out & stay, customs clearance, express couriers.

Tell us about projects that you have handled recently.

Notwithstanding these hard times, we have been moving 2 x 187 tons engines, 2 x 150 heaters, more than 170 “OOG” machines for pipe-laying dispatched both in Alberta (Canada) and in Pleven (Bulgaria).

During the “lock-down” we achieved an important goal delivering a complete tube-mill plant on a door-to-door basis from Italy to Alabama (USA) providing all kinds of solutions including Break-Bulk, Flat Racks, Containers and Air Freights!

Which are the main industries served in Italy?

Italy has a large variety of small-medium sized enterprises that constitutes one of the basis of our entire economical system. This makes Italy, along with some excellence productions (such as wine, fashion and luxury cars), the 8th largest country per Gross Domestic Product in the world.

Which are the main ports used for serving breakbulk project cargo in Italy? 

Trieste, Genova and Livorno are the main ports of Italy, but we can definitely count on several other ports that are both flexible and with skilled manpower to perfectly handle project cargo.

What are the difficulties faced during o/g permits for road transport in Italy? What is a typical time required for the issuance?

Due to the recent damages suffered by some infrastructures in Italy (like the Morandi bridge in Genova that collapsed in 2018) the permits release and the cross-checks have been intensified.

Every convoy (truck + trailer + cargo) with a gross mass equal or above 180 tons is subject to additional technical studies that often lead to very expensive (and time consuming) static calculations.

The average time for obtaining permits (below 180 tons convoy) is four weeks.

Is special transport a competitive sector in Italy? How do you ensure that you will stand out?

The new and improved rules are defining a better scenario for the special transport sector in Italy, because it is levelling the standards to a higher point, sensitively reducing the number of unprofessional competitors. We constantly assert our will to act within the rules, assuring our clients for a timely response and a full back-up on any event.

What made you join the industry?

I was “born” in the industry and today I still “live” in it with a totally open approach as during my childhood days, when I was listening my father telling about ships, cargoes and distant countries.

I grew up trying to expand my horizons and foster friendships all over the world, encouraging my team to do the same.

What do you like the most about your business?

Our business is made of “solutions”… sometimes they are hard to find but this makes every day a new day. Being always challenged allows us to cultivate the lateral thinking that becomes part of our lives.

Project cargo forwarding is like a daily self-improvement course… AND IT IS FOR FREE !

That’s why we love it !

Who should be approached in DCS Liburnus for inquiries?

DCS LIBURNUS is totally committed to assist on any enquiry.

RFQs and RFIs can be sent to info@dcsliburnus.com, we will put at Your service our knowledge base.

We will be happy to be at Your side, providing the solutions for any of Your transportation needs.

…as we say… Your Project, Our Forwarding.