Anniversary specials
Special containers from Innofreight set to roll in western Switzerland too. The year 2022 was marked by the 20th anniversary at the Austrian company Innofreight. Managing director Peter Wanek-Pusset provided the ITJ with a positive update. “We’ve further expanded our international market position, and thousands of new ‘InnoWaggons’ developed ourselves will come onto the market in the coming years.”
Two rather special projects characterised Innofreight’s business in its anniversary year. In Switzerland, the company was able to help with the renaturation of Lake Neuchâtel. Together with SBB Cargo, a large infrastructure project was realised, for which Innofreight sent to Switzerland 22 2 x 40 ft ‘InnoWaggons’ with 132 XM 2000 ‘Montainers’, and a rotary unloader.
The containers are loaded with uncontaminated excavated material at a large construction site in Geneva, and transported to Lake Neuchâtel, where their contents are sunk into the lake and fill in holes previously created by gravel excavation. This will restore the lake to a more natural state and make it a better habitat for animals and plants.
Meanwhile, in Germany, the largest project in the company’s history to date was implemented together with DB Cargo. The steel and mining group Arcelor Mittal converted its entire raw materials logistics at the Eisenhüttenstadt steelworks to Innofreight technology.
The logistics were aligned to the customer’s needs by implementing two stationary unloading facilities in one steel plant, and delivering 352 ‘InnoWaggons’ in two lengths with 1,408 ‘Montainers’, with four different loading volumes.
Focusing more on intermodality
20 years ago, Innofreight started developing special containers with a small but motivated team. Today, the company is one that develops and offers total logistics concepts throughout Europe, with an ever greater focus on intermodal transport solutions from this year onwards.
At present, 23,000 superstructures, 2,700 ‘InnoWaggons’, 61 rotary unloading forklifts and nine stationary unloading facilities are in action throughout Europe. 140 employees work at six locations in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Czechia, Sweden and Switzerland, serving railfreight transport enterprises with innovative equipment that brings users economic as well as ecological advantages.
The technical separation of the wagon from the container on it is Innofreight’s successful business model for the future. “In 2022 we completed numerous projects and put three stationary unloading facilities into operation,” Wanek-Pusset summarised. The unloading facility for the largest Czech energy supplier CEZ Group in Melník has been supplying the capital city of Prague with heat and energy since the beginning of this year.
“High demand for Innofreight’s ‘InnoWaggons’ will lead to production at TŽV Gredelj’s site in Croatia being ramped up.”
At the intermodal transport terminal in Mošnov (Czechia) Innofreight works with partners Medlog Czech Republic, Budamar Logistics and CD Logistics to shift thousands of tonnes of goods from the roads to the railways.
As demand for wagons is very high, Innofreight will have around 1,000 ‘InnoWaggons’ produced annually at TŽV Gredelj’s site in Croatia in future. An MoU between Tatravagónka, Budamar Logistics and Innofreight guarantees the safe and high-quality production of ‘InnoWaggons’ for the next ten years.
Further innovation in the pipeline
The prototype of the one-piece 80 ft ‘InnoWaggon’ is currently developing towards series production. The first units will be used for the economically sustainable transport of biomass and woodchips from 2023.
Wanek-Pusset said that “we’re currently working diligently on the development of new products.” The pyramid-shaped ‘Drytainer’ has been adapted to the requirements of direct reduced iron (DRI), a new raw material in the steel industry. Its high base makes it possible to load two to four additional pipes per double wagon.
A ‘wire stanchions’ system enables two-layer loading of the wagons with wire coils and can also be used to transport sawn timber. In addition, other transport solutions for intermodal transport are currently in the test phase.