Big Ben Bong for Dachser with Very Special Delivery

The Elizabeth Tower, or Big Ben as it is more commonly known, is one of London’s most famous landmarks. Its four striking clock faces, each seven metres in diameter, also gave it its name ‘the Clock Tower’. The iconic symbol is currently undergoing renovation work; it is set to chime again in all its glory by 2021.

Renovation work is also being carried out on the glass dials using glass plates from Waldsassen in Germany’s Upper Palatinate region, where Glashütte Lamberts faithfully reproduced Big Ben’s dial and produced 1,300 glass plates for the famous tower by hand. “It is one of the most famous landmarks in the world. And it’s especially moving to think that we’re the ones making the glass for it. It’s something we are proud of,” says Robert Christ, Head of Marketing at Glashütte Lamberts.

Buckingham Palace
The company’s logistics partner Dachser handles transportation from the Upper Palatinate to Dartford near London. Transporting this fragile glass freight requires no small amount of precision and expertise. They have the necessary experience: Dachser Logistics Center Hof delivered glass made by the long-established company to the UK for Buckingham Palace. “We’ve been working with Glashütte Lamberts since 2009 and serve them in other European countries,” says Angela Puchtler, Sales Executive at Dachser Logistikzentrum Hof.

342 glass plates become a dial
Safely packed into wooden crates and palleted for transportation, the glass plates make their way via direct transport to their famous installation site in London, where a British company cuts them to the exact size to fit the tower’s clock face. As of next year, about 1,300 glass plates from Bavaria will adorn what is probably the most famous tower in England. “We work together with our customers to develop transport solutions for very specific requirements such as these,” Puchtler says. “And it goes without saying that we’re rather proud that we, as logistics specialists, have played a part in restoring the Elizabeth Tower to splendour.”