Press release
December 12, 2003
Significant interest in Green Cargo’s new freight car
Europe’s most modern freight car was inaugurated today in Holmsund. The new car
increases the efficiency of Green Cargo’s logistics system for the transport of SCA’s
goods between the mills and terminals in Munksund, Holmsund and Skövde. The
ceremony was attended by nearly a hundred representatives of various transportintensive industries and rail operators.
During the autumn and winter, a total of 54 new cars are being placed in service for SCA.
Each car is 30 meters long and comprises two coupled sections. The cars have a wheel
suspension that is unique to freight cars, enabling fast and quiet rail transport of heavy loads
without vibration or damage to the large rolls of paper loaded on the car. Loading efficiency is
increased by 30 percent since the entire sides of the car can be opened, thus facilitating the
work of forklift operators.
”These new cars are a welcome development of our
already efficient transport solutions. They strengthen
SCA’s competitiveness, since loading and unloading are
simplified and the car’s operating characteristics
practically eliminate damage to the cargo,” said SCA
Transforest’s President Rolf Johannesson at the
inauguration ceremony.
The inauguration ceremony and the traditional cutting of
the ribbon was performed by Lennart Holmlund, the municipal commissioner for Umeå, who
emphasized the importance of efficient transport systems for industry in the north of Sweden.
”The inauguration of the new cars for SCA is important for us who live and work in the counties
of Västerbotten and Norrbotten since long distances put industries in the north at a
disadvantage to many competitors on the continent,” said Lennart Holmlund, pointing out that
the combination of the railway and the port in Umeå is one of the transport system’s strengths.
“The new cars also contribute to safer and quieter transport.”
Each year, nearly a thousand trips are made on SCA’s behalf, transporting about 800,000 tons
of wood, paper and recovered paper for recycling between SCA’s facilities in Munksund,
Holmsund and Skövde. The new cars, designed and supplied by K Industrier in Malmö,
represent an investment of SEK 90 M.
”It was highly important for Green Cargo to make this major investment, since the cars are
customized to SCA Transforest’s needs, increasing the quality and efficiency of our customer’s
transport solution,” said Jan Sundling, Green Cargo’s President.
Contacts:
Urban Häggkvist, President, Interforest Terminal Umeå AB, tel.+46 70 310 16 52
Mats Hollander, Press Officer, Green Cargo, tel. +46 70 762 46 14
Björn Widell, President, K Industrier, tel. +46 70 539 25 60
For press photos of the freight car and the inauguration ceremony, please contact PerAnders Sjökvist at SCA’s press service. Tel. +46 60 19 44 86 or +46 60 19 32 46.
SCA Transforest AB is a logistics company that provides sea and land transport within Europe and to
overseas markets. The operations are supported by a network of terminals in strategic European
locations. SCA Transforest is included in SCA’s Forest Products business area, which produces
publication paper for newspapers, magazines and brochures, pulp, sawn timber products and forest
fuel.
See also www.transforest.sca.com
Interforest Terminal Umeå AB is part of SCA Transforest and has operated at the port of Umeå since
the 1920s under the name of Holmsunds Stuveri. Since 1967, the company has provided logistics
services for SCA in Umeå. This full-service terminal also procures and supplies freight services. The
company handles approximately 1.3 million tonnes of freight annually and has about 120 employees.
Green Cargo is a transport and logistics company that operates about 80 percent of freight trains in
Sweden. Customers are offered transport solutions labeled with the Swedish Society for Nature
Conservation’s ‘Bra Miljöval’ ecolabel. The Group, which is owned by the Swedish government, has
about 3,700 employees and annual sales of SEK 6.2 billion.
See also www.greencargo.com
Fact sheet:
New freight cars in efficient logistics system for SCA
Transport system
Green Cargo’s railway-based transport solution for SCA links the three locations of Munksund
(Piteå), Holmsund (Umeå) och Skövde.
• SCA has a sawmill and paper mill in Munksund.
• In Holmsund, there is a transshipment terminal, a port of shipment for SCA’s products,
a paper mill (Obbola) and a sawmill.
• Skövde is the location of SCA’s terminal for the Nordic market and is where recycled
fiber is collected for transport to SCA’s paper mills in the north of Sweden.
Each year, Green Cargo makes nearly 1,000 rail trips to transport about 800,000 tons of
paper, recycled fiber and wood in this system. Seven locomotives and some 100 cars are
used. About 100 persons work within the system as engineers, yard operators or with loading
and unloading. In addition, there are functions for management, planning and customer
service.
Green Cargo also transports roundwood for SCA in two systems – one in NorrbottenVästerbotten and one in Jämtland-Ångermanland.
Environmental performance of the transport system
• The rail-based system is served with electric locomotives, using electricity from
renewable sources. Annual carbon dioxide emission is 87,600 tons.
• Using road transport (environmental class Euro 3), the annual emission of carbon
dioxide would be more than 25 million tons (statistics from the Network for Transport
and the Environment, www.ntm.a.se)
The new car
Green Cargo is putting 54 new cars into service in SCA’s transport system. The cars are shortcoupled two-axled with a total length of 30 meters. The modern wheel suspension leads to
smooth, silent operating characteristics that protect fragile cargo. Automatic and simultaneous
opening of the doors on both sides enables efficient and ergonomic cargo handling. Brief facts
about the new car, often referred to in the industry as Europe’s most modern:
• Payload at 25 ton axle load
66.8 tons
• Tare weight
33.2 tons
• Max. speed, fully loaded
100 km/h
• Length over buffer
30,080 mm
• Length, load surface
2 x 13,400 mm
• Width, load surface
3,180 mm
• Internal height
3,200 mm
The 54 cars are being delivered from the manufacturer K Industrier in Malmö during the
autumn of 2003 and the spring of 2004. The total value of the order is SEK 90 M.
Contacts:
Urban Häggkvist, President, Interforest Terminal Umeå AB, tel. +46 70 310 16 52
Mats Hollander, Press Officer, Green Cargo, tel. +46 70 762 46 14