DHL is transporting valuable music instruments to China for the world-famous Leipzig GewandhausOrchestra which is visiting the country for the first time and will handle logistics for the rest
of the Asia tour.As the official logistics partner of the orchestra, whose 185 musicians make it one of thebiggest professional orchestras in the world, DHL said it will handle all transports in China andinternational logistics throughout the entire Asian tour. Due to the varied requirements related totransporting an entire orchestra, the two DHL business units Express and Global Forwarding will beboth equally involved in the transportation.
The tight schedule of the Asian tour poses a challenge to DHL’s logistics experts.Instruments need to be repacked and loaded after each concert so they will reach the next stop ofthe tour as soon as possible, usually the next day, and can be used for rehearsals by the afternoonof that day.
The first concert will take place at the Grand Theater in Shanghai, China, on 21 October2009. Following another performance in Beijing, the Gewandhaus Orchestra will continue its tour inJapan. The orchestra’s performance at the NHK International Music Festival in Tokyo will mark theend of the tour. After this, DHL will start preparing to support the Gewandhaus Orchestra duringits US tour from 17 – 28 February 2010.
One of the greatest challenges involved is maintaining a constant temperature which shouldideally be 18 – 20° C throughout the entire haulage period, as greater variations in temperaturewould lead to cracks in the instruments and, thus, to lasting damage. DHL continuouslymonitors and documents the temperature of its valuable cargo aboard the planes and trucks usingtemperature recorders and makes these data available online in real time via GPS. Moreover, DHLprotects the instruments against crushing by using air-suspended vehicles and form-fit transportpackaging. In addition to transport, DHL also takes care of packaging, loading, and the necessarycustoms formalities.
As many of the Gewandhaus Orchestra’s instruments are unique and hence virtuallyirreplaceable, a load can worth up to €3 million. For the Asian tour, more than 100 instrumentswith a total weight of over six tonnes will be transported. The instruments concerned range fromkettledrums weighing up to 133 kg to cellos and violins, trombones, clarinets and trumpets. Inaddition, DHL will also transport the stage equipment, such as the conductor’s rostrum, stools andmusic stands as well as the sheet music and the wardrobe of the musicians.
“We know that our valuable instruments are in the very best of hands with our logisticspartner DHL. We have been cooperating successfully for years and we are certain that we can fullycount on DHL during our first tour of China,” said Riccardo Chailly, the orchestra’s conductor.
DHL has been cooperating with the Leipzig star orchestra since 2005.
