AssiDomän signs transport agreement

AssiDomän signs unique transport agreement with Swedish and German railway operators AssiDomän has signed a long-term agreement with the Swedish railway operator SJ Cargo Group and the German railway operator DB Cargo AG regarding use of one of Europe's fastest railway systems for goods transport. The system, which is also one of the most comprehensive in Europe, will initially carry 1.2 million tonnes of goods from AssiDomän's units in Sweden to customers in Scandinavia and the European continent. AssiDomän will thus become one of the largest customers of SJ, Swedish State Railways, in terms of transport work. For the overall system, Transwaggon has been chosen as the main supplier of wagons and Euroshuttle as operator for the combined traffic. The system has an annual turnover of around MSEK 350 (nearly MEURO 40) and includes transport from the mill to the customer, i.e. wagons, traction, terminal/storage and distribution to the end-customer. "We are very satisfied with the new system. The main benefit for us will be better service for our customers, especially in terms of quicker deliveries, higher transport frequency and increased reliability," says Ragnar Thulin, head of logistics at AssiDomän. "This means that SJ Cargo Group together with DB Cargo AG will take over full responsibility for AssiDomän's railway logistics. We will be running two full trains to and from each unit via Hallsberg in Sweden six days a week. Wagons will be connected at Hallsberg to two daily trains to Maschen in Germany, from where they will be redirected to AssiDomän customers throughout Europe," explains Christer Beijbom, head of SJ Cargo Group. "Right from the start we will provide a quality-assured, highly efficient system with short lead times. For example, we will deliver from AssiDomän's units in northern Sweden to customers in southern Germany in less than three days." The system also has environmental benefits, partly because some current ship and truck transport will be switched to the railway, and partly because trains returning to Sweden will be filled with other goods. It means an improved transport balance overall. SJ will set up a special service centre for AssiDomän in Hallsberg, the main junction of the Swedish system. Europe's largest shunting station at Maschen, near Hamburg, will also play an important role. This is the gateway to the rest of Europe and will act as the central hub for the distribution of AssiDomän's finished products as well as for the return of goods to Sweden. The new transport arrangement will come into operation in the autumn. For more information, please contact one of the following: AssiDomän AB Ragnar Thulin, head of Corporate Logistics, tel. +46 431 36 95 53, +46 70 522 09 50 Håkan Andersson, Land Transportation manager, tel. +46 86 55 91 17 Hans Palm, media relations, tel. +46 8 655 90 00 SJ Cargo Group Christer Beijbom, division manager, tel. +46 70 762 43 00, +46 8 571 434 66 Ronny Svensson, head of Marknad Skog, tel. +46 70 554 23 27, +46 171 573 76 Björn Halldén, media relations, tel. +46 8 762 37 49 DB Cargo AG Gerd Seidel, head of Swedish operations, tel. +46 8 10 12 16 ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/07/12/19990712BIT00060/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/07/12/19990712BIT00060/bit0002.pdf http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/07/12/19990712BIT00060/bit0003.xls