Matching Indian customer expectations

Friends Group is a major shipping and port services company in the shipping industry. Gautam Freight Pvt. Ltd. and Arvind V. Joshi & Co. are Friends Group’s premier solutions and port services providers. Together, these companies handle a wide base of activities that includes stevedoring, cargo handling, dry cargo storage, lighterage and midstreaming from the Group’s  facility at Gandhidham in western India.

The company’s container freight division is one of the largest private facilities in Gujarat. Sprawled across 28 acres covering an open paved area of 200,000 square feet and 350,000 square feet of open land, the facility is equipped with a large range of modern container handling equipment.

Gautam Freight Director, Mridul Ramesh Singhvi, says the company is excited by Kalmar’s commitment to investing in R&D and designing products that best suit customer operations. “We value our two decades-long relationship with Kalmar group and would like to take this to the next level,” he adds.

“We value our two decades-long relationship with Kalmar group and would like to take this to the next level."

In fiscal year 2020-2021, Gautam Freight handled approximately nine million tonnes of bulk cargo. The company also enjoys a solid reputation for its project cargo logistics services delivered through a dedicated operations team who have a thorough understanding of cargo handling for ports and transport agencies.

Major bulk cargo handled includes coal, iron ore, steel, fertilizer, cement clinker, limestone, agri-products and scrap materials.

“We are very satisfied with the quality of Kalmar products, which is backed up by excellent after sales support by the local team and enables us to perform tasks efficiently and keep our customers happy,” says Mitesh Singh Chauhan, Head Commercial, Finance and R.E. at Friends Group.

"Excellent after sales support by the local team and enables us to perform tasks efficiently and keep our customers happy.”

The machines used by Gautam Freight are under Kalmar Care service contracts which provide all the services required for maintaining and supporting customer equipment.

Managing heavy lift projects requires special expertise, care and attention to detail. In addition to mobile harbour cranes and material handlers, the company has a sizeable fleet of heavy duty equipment including eight Kalmar Reachstackers – three DRF450-65S5 machines and two each of the DRF450-60S5 and DRS4527-S5 and one DRG450-65S5 models.

The latest addition to this fleet is a new DRG450-65S5 Gloria Reachstacker which was delivered in the third quarter of 2021.

“Gloria reachstackers offer Gautam Freight market leading productivity and lifetime value,” explains Jinesh Manian, Sales Director Middle East & East Africa, Kalmar. “They combine superior lifting performance with easy maintenance and excellent reliability.”

Learn more about Kalmar reachstacker solutions.