Samskip becomes Europe’s first to see the benefit through carbon emission-cutting glass

17, October 2016 – Samskip is Europe’s first company to benefit from a straightforward but lasting way to save energy at its Rotterdam headquarters, after Nexus, on behalf of the building owner, funds installation of specially laminated glass that blocks infra-red rays but not daylight.

Part of the logistics company’s Sustainability Strategy, the scheme is expected to cut office cooling energy use in half, reducing Samskip’s carbon emissions by around 45 tonnes a year.The initiative has been undertaken in close collaboration with the Dutch glass product supplier, Innovative Facility Solutions (IFS), with investment coming from Dutch asset manager: Nexus Real Estate.

The patented glass product is being installed on all windows at Samskip’s 4,004 m² head office, with around 229 laminated glass panels fitted, covering an area of 548 m². Functioning as a third ‘isolation’ window the solution keeps in heat in winter, but its infra-red blocking properties keep out heat in summer without affecting daylight. This is expected to cut the energy used by office cooling installations by 50%.

By blocking infra-red rays, the new SR-IR glass also creates a more comfortable working environment, with temperatures controlled within an optimal range of 20-25 degrees Celsius.

Samskip is the first company in Europe to benefit from the cheaper, and ‘greener’ climate control system, following 10 years of R&D into SR-IR laminated glass and an exhaustive testing phase. Samskip Manager Marketing & Communication, Eva Rademaker-de Leeuw, says: “Our aim is to run our business in as environmentally friendly a way as is possible; this is true for our logistics operations, but also for our offices. The partnership with IFS and Nexus will enable us to reduce our carbon emissions by around 45 tonnes a year. We hope others in the logistics and transport industry, and beyond, will follow our example.”

Pieter Romme, partner at Nexus, says: “We are very excited to have found an innovative and new solution – in close cooperation with our technical manager CBRE – to improve the sustainability of our property. We are very enthusiastic about this product and expect that, after the introduction to our building in Rotterdam, more landlords in the Netherlands will follow our lead!”.

IFS Director and Founder, Wil van der Wal, says: “We are very thankful for the close collaboration with Samskip, Nexus and CBRE; introducing a new and innovative product into the market requires confidence and belief from our clients. Most innovations in this area focus on the way energy is made, often overlooking the way it can be saved. This maintenance friendly solution represents a significant and lasting contribution to a “greener” world.

Note to editors:

> Samskip operates one of Europe’s largest multimodal container logistics systems. The Samskip network has the flexibility to move containers door-to-door between over 30 countries from the United Kingdom and Ireland to Russia, Scandinavia, Poland, the Baltic States, Finland and Iceland in the north to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Turkey, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia in Southern & Central Europe.

Samskip offers a wide range of routing options, utilising road, rail, sea and inland waterways as appropriate to provide the best combination of rate and transit time to suit individual customer requirements and preferences. It has over 13,000 containers at its disposal, ranging from 20ft to 45ft pallet-wide high cube containers including reefers, curtain-siders and flat-racks.

> IFS is the only certified dealer of GPS-products in the Netherlands, with an extensive package for both the business as well as the consumer market. Using innovative technologies, revolutionary glass products have been developed which make it possible to conserve energy. IFS is a certified installer, application instructor and quality controller.

> Nexus Real Estate is an independent, principal-owned real estate asset and fund management firm that seeks to create return and long term value for its clients. Nexus is a young and ambitious management company that aims to provide a strongly-aligned platform for the Dutch real estate market.

Nexus initiates and structures real estate investments, both single asset and portfolio transactions. Nexus has a strong grounding in the Dutch market and brings a broad and international experience in real estate investment, asset management, real estate financing as well as corporate finance and (re)structuring expertise. As a result, Nexus provides comprehensive fund and asset management capabilities for its clients.