William Martin, MD International Gateways and GTS, UK and Ireland FedEx Express Europe, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent & Africa
Each year millions of visitors flock to one of the most prolific historical collections in the world, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. They want to see its world-leading array of artefacts and curiosities from recent and ancient history, as well as pre-historic times. If you were to visit tomorrow, you would be just in time to catch a glimpse of one of the most intact Tyrannosaurus Rex skeletons in existence. Over 65 million years old and 38 feet long, it is not only priceless, it is truly awe inspiring.
For most people, simply being in the presence of such an item is a jaw dropping experience. Few people stop to ponder how it got there in the first place.
That’s where FedEx comes in.
An incredible journey
In April 2014, the T-Rex skeleton began its journey from the Museum of the Rockies in Montana to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History on the other side of the country in Washington D.C. covering a distance of some 2,000 miles. Taking care to ensure the safe transportation of this most valuable of cargo was integral to us as the official transportation provider.
Transporting shipments of this magnitude is no mean feat. It requires a high level of logistical know-how, coupled with cutting-edge technology. It also involves a large amount of planning. Before transporting the skeleton, we worked closely both with the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, and the Smithsonian to strategically place the bones on pallets and to develop a safe and secure packing method before embarking on the four-day trip.
Cutting-edge technology
Once the plans had been laid, the T-Rex travelled on a truck, uniquely suited to transport this most fragile and valuable of shipments. To provide further protection, our SenseAware service was used to monitor and maintain the shipment’s integrity. Using this sensor-based technology to provide near real-time visibility, the shipment’s temperature, exposure to light, location, humidity, shock and barometric pressure were monitored – extremely important during the transportation of sensitive shipments.
Using state-of-the-art GPS technology, programmed with the optimal route, this allowed the T-Rex to reach its new home in Washington D.C. safe and sound in the quickest time possible.
Packages are part and parcel, but not the whole story
Although best known for overnight packages and parcels, over the years we have also transported a number of unusual shipments as well.
In 2011, we transported two giant pandas, Tian Tian and Yang Guang, from Chengdu’s Bifengxia Panda Base in China to Edinburgh Airport in Scotland, becoming the first pandas to reside in the UK for more than 17 years. Thanks to the aircraft’s range and efficiency, the “FedEx Panda Express” made the journey without any stops. Travelling in comfort in custom-built transport containers, once landed in Scotland, the pair travelled to the zoo where they have lived ever since.
Zoos around the world often rely on specialist logistics providers to support conservation efforts, which is why creatures-great and small-have long been passengers aboard FedEx vehicles. From polar bears, white tigers and cougar cubs, to elephants, lions, gorillas, bald eagles and even a 13-foot tiger shark used in filming the movie “Jaws”, each species poses different challenges to ensure safe transportation.
Speed and size
When it comes to unusual shipments, it isn’t all animal related as other bulky and valuable items, such as aeroplane engines, also require specialist transportation methods. We transported 17 classic Ferraris, worth millions of dollars, from Brussels to a car show in the U.S.
The ability to carry items of great size and weight was imperative in 2006 with the appointment to transport 90 tonnes of recovered materials for “Titanic: The Artefacts Exhibition”. This included everything from personal jewellery to a 3,000 pound piece of the ship’s hull, which we moved from Milan, Italy, to Atlanta, in the US. FedEx drew on all its knowledge of customs procedures around the world and was able to coordinate the release of the shipment, ensuring delivery in time for the exhibition opening. Without the help of FedEx, the exhibition organisers estimated that it would have arrived two to three weeks late.
Expert transportation, whatever the cargo
It’s strange to think that the idea of shipping something to the other side of the world in just a couple of days or less—even if it’s just a “regular” parcel or packet—has become so commonplace, when 40 years ago it was practically unheard of. These days, logistics is about much more than simply taking something from A to B and nevermore so with rare, unique or invaluable cargo. As global business grows evermore connected, the need to ship valuable and sensitive cargo safely, securely and quickly will only increase.
So, next time you’re in a museum, or anywhere else in fact, gazing in wonder at something large, ancient and undeniably valuable, ask yourself how it got there in the first place—the chances are there’s a fascinating story to be told.
