Sustainably dynamic
At ‘transport logistics’ in Munich, the industry’s leading international trade fair that took place online in May, Lkw Walter showed, amongst other things, ways in which sustainable transport solutions can reduce CO2 emissions and empty runs, through combined railway transport options or shortsea shipping solutions, for example. Digital tools play an increasingly central role.
On the occasion of this year’s ‘tl 2021’, which was held in cyberspace, Lkw Walter stood in front of the camera to present current topics – instead of personally staffing its stand on site at the trade fair. Senior sales manager Melanie Sprick and sales director Tait Richards presented the firm’s efforts on sustainable and digitally-supported transport.
They regretted the fact that this year, following the presentation, a digital Q & A session had to replace face-to-face exchanges that traditionally take place during the ‘Bavarian Evening’. This did not detract from the ensuing discussions, with the audience as avatars.
Of board members and university professors
Board member Herbert Traxler greeted his audience with a “servus from Vienna”, and did not miss the opportunity to point out the challenges of 2021 – change, security, capacity, flexibility and sustainability. He stated that “the core topic of green transport includes alternative fuels as well as the daily shift in the modal split of 3,000 transports from road to rail and inland waterways.”
Professor Dr Stefan Iskan, of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, echoed Traxler’s sentiments on sustainability and technology. In the technological race between manufacturers, the telematics industry, large freight forwarders, SMEs and start-ups, Iskan expects a few platforms to dominate and large shippers and e-commerce players to gain more market influence in future. In the field of operational goods transport, he has noted a renaissance of the virtual control tower concept, based on real-time data.
Green roads are long
A look into the past and future of Lkw Walter’s commitment to green transport was presented by Bernhard Haidacher, director in charge of safety, health, environment and quality (SHEQ). The transport industry can contribute a great deal to the goals of the European ‘Green Deal’, launched in December 2019 and which aims to make Europe climate-neutral by 2050, amongst other things.
Lkw Walter has already focused on combined transport for decades now, pursuing the
concept of ‘smart mobility’ for more efficient transport flows. Alternative fuels such as LNG or HVO (bio-diesel) are also used. One of the successes achieved by the company is the fact that CO2 emissions have been reduced by around 30 million kg in the last five years.
As early as 1997 Lkw Walter was certified in accordance with the Safety and Quality Assessment System (SQAS) for chemical transport solutions; last year the firm also joined the European Clean Trucking Alliance (ECTA).
Claudia Schusterreiter and Enrique Cerezo from the sales team presented Lkw Walter’s intermodal network. With 12,000 craneable trailers, 300 goods trains a day and one third of the transports using intermodal connections, the segment is constantly being expanded.
Some train connections were added recently; from Brno via Rostock to Scandinavia, and from Cologne to Trieste and Turkey, amongst others. The fact that 2021 has been designated as the European Year of Rail is a further strong incentive. Lkw Walter’s customers who attended the meeting underlined the opportunities created by intermodal cooperation.
