• duisport provides logistics assistance with the transport of urgently needed personal protective equipment from China, and donates relief totaling EUR 50,000 to clinics, hospitals and social facilities in Duisburg and surrounding area

• Andreas Pinkwart, North-Rhine Westphalia’s Minister of Industry, thanks the port team

• Handover of donation to Evangelisches Klinikum Niederrhein

Duisburg, 22 April 2020 - Together with its Chinese partners, the Port of Duisburg worked to ensure the rapid transport of medical equipment (protective suits and face masks) from China to North Rhine-Westphalia. This equipment is designated for use in the federal state’s medical and social facilities.

duisport Chief Executive Officer Erich Staake: “Using our know-how, we want to do our part to ensure that people working in North Rhine-Westphalian institutions receive help quickly and without red tape. Currently, we are working with government authorities to prepare a logistics aid package, as time was of the essence, initially in cooperation with partners from the air cargo sector. We are also checking whether - following the success of the first delivery - we can use our rail connections to ensure the reliable transport of medication and other relief and contribute our logistics know-how.”

“The team at duisport used its excellent logistics network to assist the state government in transporting urgently required materials to North Rhine-Westphalia as quickly as possible.
We would also like to thank our partners in China for their commitment and the rapid and unbureaucratic assistance on location,” says Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart, Minister of Industry, Innovation, Digitization and Energy for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with regard to the assistance provided by the port.

The value of the medical goods currently transported on behalf of the state government is approximately EUR 1 million. These goods are needed mainly for medical personnel at clinics in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Donation for regional facilities

In the course of these measures, the Port of Duisburg also donates personal protective equipment valued at EUR 50,000. It will gradually be distributed to medical and social facilities in the region, which are involved in fighting the spread of the coronavirus together with the health authorities.

Yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of the duisport Group, Erich Staake, personally delivered a large shipment of urgently needed protective material to the Evangelisches Klinikum Niederrhein in Duisburg Fahrn, while maintaining the appropriate physical distance. Two hygiene experts, Petra Felcmann and Stefanie Zubehör, along with Dr. med. Andreas Sander, Medical Director, and Dr. Stefan Simon, Manager of Hospital Hygiene, were on hand to receive the items on behalf of the entire hospital staff. The Evangelisches Klinikum Niederrhein is just one example of the local institutions that receive donations in kind from the Port of Duisburg. Essen University Hospital and the Krupp Hospital have already received a portion of the personal protective equipment.

Tight supplies of personal protective equipment

The situation regarding the procurement of medical personal protective equipment is not all that clear at the moment. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, government authorities and companies are desperately trying to procure protective textiles.
They are needed to protect staff and patients from getting infected with SARS CoV-2 during treatment.

Many of these goods do not reach their intended destinations for different reasons. The duisport Group uses its extensive logistics expertise to make an important contribution to society and provide efficient assistance even in crisis situations.

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