Success Stories

Sacred transportation

In the middle of March, 2015 a solemn mission – a transportation of khachkars – was performed by Unitrans, which we would like to share with you here.

Khachkars are historically developed carved stones with images of cross. They have special meaning and bear sacred reverence for Armenians all over the world, but… probably… not only for Armenians… And on the threshold of 100-year anniversary of 1915 Genocide, they have special meaning for all 13 mln Armenians all over the world as symbols of Sorrow of 1.5 mln victims of the Genocide.
So, in March 2015, one month before the Commemoration Day, a special truck started its unique trip to Europe from Yerevan, Armenia with four khachkars on board. Actually this is not the first time khachkars are sent worldwide from Armenia. And Unitrans is used to transport khachkars all over the world by different modes of transportation: air, ocean, truck…And Unitrans was proud to get these special orders for transportation of four newly-made khachkars, sent for raising in different European cities in Germany, France, Austria and Poland.

But this time four khachkars made at different parts of Armenia were travelling together to different destinations as a Warning to Humanity on the events that should not take place in the World History anymore.

The khachkars have about one to two tones in two pieces each. And, made from basalt with delicate hand-made engravings on them, they were handled with exceptional care. Even the driver, learning about his special mission, promised to drive as careful as possible.
Unitrans staff paid special attention to these exports and is proud thus to become a particle in global process of the spiritual exchange and share of Human values.

Elephants On Board

The preparations and arrangements started in the spring of 2014. There were to be two shipments: one from Yerevan to Tbilisi with the “Armenian” Grantik on board – and the second from Tbilisi to Yerevan with the “Georgian” Grantik Junior. A 20 feet container weighing 4.5 tons was reinforced, heightened and equipped for this purpose by the Yerevan Zoo. A 12 meter flatbed truck was designated for the container in order to provide enough space for a water tanker and hay supply for the elephants.In 2014 however, the most favorite shipments were two elephants. The charitable transportation, a close cooperation between the DHL Georgia and Unitrans, was carried during night-time with a special escort from the Ministry of Emergency Situations in order to mitigate day-time summer temperatures and to avoid the noise and disturbances of the highways.Unitrans is one of the oldest freight forwarding companies in Armenia where cargo transportation is an everyday work. Unitrans transports a wide array of cargoes from the smallest – such as а vial of human blood from a donor in Armenia to a cancer patient in another continent, to the largest – such as the generator that weighed 187 tones and was carried by airplane in one piece. The transportation of this unprecedented heavy cargo is registered in the Guinness Book of Records.

After months of planning and preparations, Grantik arrived in the Tbilisi Zoo on June 12, 2014. And Grantik Junior arrived at the Yerevan Zoo early in the morning of June 27th in the same container.

If only for their physical dimension and weight, the elephants could be considered standard cargoes weighing 6 and 2 tons respectively. However, being live animals, their behavior during the transportation could be unpredictable and that’s what made the transportation risky.