Vattenfall to centralize coal purchasing
As of January 2008, Vattenfall’s hard coal purchasing will be centralized in the Group’s trading unit, Vattenfall Trading Services. The new coal desk will be located in Copenhagen and handle all activities related to physical and financial coal and freight transactions on behalf of the whole Vattenfall group.
As of January 1, 2008 Vattenfall Trading Services (VTS) will be the exclusive Market Access for all physical and financial coal and freight transactions on behalf of the whole Vattenfall group. The activities will be organised in a separate legal entity located in Copenhagen. The new coal unit will be built on the know-how and competence today existing in Vattenfall’s hard coal fuelled units (Vattenfall Nordic Production Thermal, Vattenfall Europe Heat Hamburg and Berlin, Vattenfall Europe Generation and Vattenfall Poland). Søren Alsing, so far responsible for the Fuel Management in Vattenfall Nordic Thermal Power, will be appointed Head of the Danish coal unit. He and his team of 16, consisting of purchasing and logistic co-ordinators, financial traders and analysts, will manage Vattenfall’s total coal portfolio.
By centralising the coal purchasing activities and integrate them under the roof of the Trading Organisation, Vattenfall takes another important step to realise cross-border synergies resulting from a group-wide purchasing strategy and the optimisation of storage and freight capacities.
“Facing a tight global supply situation with coal and freight quotations at all time highs, strengthening the demand side and developing the coal purchasing further with regard to qualities for blending is more important than ever,” says Søren Alsing.
In Germany Vattenfall runs five hard coal fuelled plants, four are located in Poland and three are operated in Denmark. Historically, input planning, purchasing, optimization and strategies were carried out separately by the respective Business Units. In Denmark, Vattenfall owns and operates deep port facilities (Ensted) and barges systems.
VTS provides portfolio and risk management services to all Vattenfall units and trades physical and financial electricity, CO2, gas, financial coal and freight, currencies, oil and aluminium.
“Integrating the coal purchasing rounds up our portfolio,” says Henrik Valgma, Head of Vattenfall Trading Services. “Now VTS manages the whole value chain from fuel procurement and plant optimisation to logistics.”
The re-organisation is valid for all transactions concluded from January 1, 2008 onwards. Existing coal-purchasing contracts with Vattenfall’s Business Units in Denmark, Germany and Poland remain unchanged, but handling of contracts will be under the responsibility of VTS.
For further information, please contact:
Søren Alsing, Head of Coal Desk, Vattenfall Trading Services, phone: +45 2787 5511.
Gabriele Rahn, Media spokesperson, Vattenfall Trading Services, phone: +49 40 244 30 328.
From Vattenfall's Press Office, telephone: +46 (0)8-739 50 10.