BTL is building up a European rail network

BTL is building up a European rail network Moving goods by rail has proved to be the best way of circumventing the traffic snarl-ups on the roads of Europe. "We can see an enormous potential in Central Europe," says SRC's managing director Leif Persson. "The closer ties between the countries in Eastern Europe and the EU will also lead to rapid growth in transport needs." Scandinavian Rail Cargo, SRC, is one of the largest rail forwarders in Sweden and is the leader in transports between Germany, the Benelux countries and Sweden. The SRC representative office in Hamburg will help to further develop the Scandinavian traffic and in Padua in Italy a system has been established to put block train solutions together. SRC is also expanding in Poland, with offices in Warsaw and Malaszewicze. SRC has the aim to improve the European infrastructure together with the rail companies and private wagon owners and in order to acquire more and better wagons. This will facilitate border crossings and open up the railways to the free movement of traffic. Co-operation between different players is vital for the success of this endeavour. When IKEA was having difficulties in getting goods from their suppliers in Poland they asked SRC to solve the problem. SRC succeeded in filling rail wagons which earlier returned to western Europe empty. Now they are operated via IKEA's suppliers and run fully loaded to the warehouses in Sweden or on the continent. Last year, IKEA collected one million cubic metres of furniture in Poland. "The fact that SRC is part of Schenker-BTL, with easy access to an extensive European land transport network, is a source of strength," says Håkan Larsson, CEO, BTL AB. "SRC also maintains close co-operation with other group companies, including Huolintakeskus in Finland, Castelletti in Italy and Schenker-BTL in Austria and Germany. We are currently pooling our resources to build up our European rail transport network." SRC had net sales last year of SEK 560 million and carried 1.6 million tonnes of goods, filling 36,000 wagons. The trend last year was positive, with net sales increasing by four per cent and total volumes by nine per cent. Traditionally, the emphasis has been on full loads for Swedish industry with large volumes. The main products are steel, pulp and paper, which account for 80 per cent of the total. There is, however, a drift towards more processed products, such as furniture and white goods, being moved by rail. This volume is expected to increase, not least for environmental reasons. BTL AB (publ) Corporate Communications For further information, please contact Leif Persson, Managing Director Scandinavian Rail Cargo (SRC) AB, phone +46 40 669 55 00. ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/05/28/19990528BIT00250/bit0001.pdf http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/05/28/19990528BIT00250/bit0002.doc