“Shifting traffic from the E4 motorway to trains will reduce carbon emissions. In addition, businesses around Skellefteå and inland will have a good, closer alternative to the ports on the east coast, which will make inland operations more competitive. As we see it, being able to use the terminal for more than just roundwood transport will be a huge benefit to the entire region,” says Johan Karlsson, wood procurement manager at Holmen Forest.
From next year, the Bastuträsk terminal will be available to more companies looking to transport raw materials and finished products to and from northern Västerbotten by train, with the transhipment of containers and trailers to trains performed on site at the terminal. The expansion is supported by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency through the Klimatklivet climate investment initiative and the European Union’s NextGenerationEU recovery fund.
“This logistics chain is a great alternative to smaller ‘feeder ports’, and provides a major CO2 saving for companies that choose to use this solution. We will also be a highly time-efficient choice. Theoretically, a company can bring in its goods and 48 hours later the goods are on board a cargo ship travelling to destinations around the globe,” says Per Rud-Petersen, manager of Holmen’s terminal in Bastuträsk.
The solution whereby containers are stowed at the terminal and transported by train to the Port of Gothenburg twice a week, all year round, is a joint venture created by Holmen and logistics firm Träfraktkontoret (TFK) in Gothenburg.
Holmen Wood Products is the first to adopt this climate-smart logistics solution via the Bastuträsk terminal, as a means to export its products to the whole world while achieving a significant CO2 reduction in the transport chain.
“We are very pleased that we have managed to establish such excellent collaboration within Holmen and with Träfraktkontoret regarding the Bastuträsk terminal. This solution will ensure a more even logistics flow from our sawmills and also reduce our freight costs, but we are particularly pleased about being able to reduce our climate impact,” says Niklas Wiggh, product manager at Holmen’s sawmills in Bygdsiljum and Kroksjön.