A load giant
The Austrian railway logistics company Innofreight, based in Bruck / Mur, can look back on 2020 with satisfaction, as well as with optimism for the future – despite the Covid-19 pandemic and thanks, amongst other things, to a major project. ITJ correspondent Josef Müller found out about this in an exchange with several interlocutors.
Innofreight owner Peter Wanek-Pusset summed up the year for the International Transport Journal by pointing out that “the consequences of the outbreak of Covid-19 didn’t pass us by without leaving a heavy mark either, of course, but our modular concept for freight transport proved successful last year.” As the firm has its our own transport solutions, su-perstructures can be used flexibly, independently of a wagon, which makes it possible to react quickly to changes in transport chains.
“Because we can flexibly exchange our superstructures, we were able to maintain operations even during the transport restrictions caused by government measures to contain the outbreak of Covid-19, and use the equipment flexibly, according to the situation,” the manager added. He founded the firm 18 years ago and expects its 110 employees internatio-nally to generate sales of around EUR 100 million in 2020. Its rolling stock is on track in 17 European countries.
One of the highlights this year, naturally enough, was Innofreight’s lar-gest order to date. In October, it’s signed a ten-year contract with DB Cargo and the steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal, specifically the latter’s Eisenhüttenstadt plant. The deal envisages Innofreight providing DB Cargo with 352 ‘InnoWaggons’ and more than 1,400 partly newly-developed superstructures of various types. DB Cargo, in its role as the overall logistics provider, will handle all raw material transports to, as well as unloading processes in, the steelworks in northeastern Germany for ArcelorMittal.
The right signal
Mario Carl, one of Innofreight Germany’s managing directors, told the ITJ that “we’ll also build two stationary unloading facilities, which will com-mence operations towards the end of 2021, at the latest, and manage the overall handling of raw materials largely automatically. This project is really a prestige project for us; it sends the right signal out all across Eu-ropean markets. We’ve had other steel producers in Europe begin to show great interest in our innovative transport and unloading concepts, and we’ve already received new inquiries from some of them.”
ArcelorMittal wants to optimise its goods flows and to this end has found partners in both DB Cargo and Innofreight. All of the partners are plea-sed. Innofreight’s system is considered unique in Europe. In this large-scale project, the Austrians will also provide a shunting robot to optimise the handling of goods trains operating in the steelworks.
‘GigaWood’ wagons in Europe
One field in which Innofreight is also flying the flag is the timber industry. Wood as a raw material is increasingly in demand, and the market de-mands optimal operational and cost-efficient logistics solutions. In response, Innofreight has developed its ‘GigaWood’ wagon and laun-ched it in European markets.
Managing director Manuela Iris Mayer is convinced that “it offers great new possibilities.” It enables an optimum in terms of payload (up to 30% more 2–12 m long logs than conventional units). As it doesn’t require any tension belts and uses specially-developed stanchions that hold the timber in place during transport, safety at work is also increased.
“The wagon has arrived at just the right time,” Mayer is pleased to say, “because there are huge quantities of damaged wood, infested by the bark beetle, in Europe’s forests. This timber urgently needs to be removed from the forests.”
350 wagons have already started rolling across Spain, Portugal, Romania, Germany, Austria, Czechia, Poland, Sweden as well as Switzerland (14 of which are being tractionised by Widmer Rail for Swiss Krono). In 2021, they’ll also be digitalised, which means that they’ll be equipped with sensors to determine the precise location and loading status of the wagons in real time.
