Samskip, Smurfit Kappa and BCTN Roermond join forces

9 January, 2017 – World leading producer of paper-based packaging Smurfit Kappa, multimodal network operator Samskip and BCTN Roermond (BCTN) are proud to announce that they have set up a cost effective, sustainable transport solution to take cargo off the road.

Samskip handles most of the paper-based cargoes that are shipped in containers within Europe to Smurfit Kappa’s cardboard factory in Roermond in the Netherlands. Following a substantial increase in demand, together with BCTN, the three parties sought a more sustainable solution to cope with the increased volumes for the last mile delivery from Rotterdam to Roermond.

Taking the cargo flows off the road and onto ‘blue road’ inland waterway services will guarantee available capacity, and will save Smurfit Kappa carbon emissions of 45 kg CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) per load.

In addition, Samskip will be able to offer higher payloads (up to 26.7 tonnes) to other customers with cargo into the Cologne, Bonn and Koblenz areas as the BCTN terminal is situated between Samskip’s Duisburg and Mannheim depots.

The first loads were unloaded in Roermond at the beginning of December, and 60 containers a week are expected to be shipped by inland waterway between Rotterdam and Roermond.

“Smurfit Kappa Recycling is excited about the partnership with Samskip and BCTN, which enables us to make big steps forward in striving to make logistics as sustainable as possible”, says Leon Graff, Managing Director Smurfit Kappa Recycling Benelux.

According to Esther Sliepen, Manager Sales & Marketing for BCTN, this cooperation is exactly what BCTN strives for; “Green and Blue are our colours, representing respect for nature and sailing the inland waters. We are happy that well-established companies like Smurfit Kappa and Samskip share this vision and that we could realize this modal shift together.”

“Samskip is looking forward to a fruitful partnership, taking cargo off the road as part of our sustainability strategy”, says Paul Wielaard, Samskip Trade Manager – West Coast Norway.

Note to editors:

> Smurfit Kappa is one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging solutions in the world, with around 45,000 employees in approximately 370 production sites across 34 countries and with revenue of €8.1 billion in 2015. We are located in 21 countries in Europe, and 13 in the Americas. We are the only large-scale pan-regional player in Latin America.

With our pro-active team we relentlessly use our extensive experience and expertise, supported by our scale, to open up opportunities for our customers. We collaborate with forward thinking customers by sharing superior product knowledge, market understanding and insights in packaging trends to ensure business success in their markets. We have an unrivalled portfolio of paper-packaging solutions, which is constantly updated with our market-leading innovations.

This is enhanced through the benefits of our integration, with optimal paper design, logistics, timeliness of service, and our packaging plants sourcing most of their raw materials from our own paper mills. Our products, which are 100% renewable and produced sustainably, improve the environmental footprint of our customers.

> BCTN is operating an inland terminal in Nijmegen since 1987. Today the BCTN network is expanded with terminals in Alblasserdam, Den Bosch, Meerhout, Roermond and Venray, offering a green and blue alternative for container transport by truck.

Transport by waterways is sustainable and efficient. Because the majority of our clients are situated within a range of 30 kilometres of our terminals, we are flexible and accurate with delivering or picking up containers to and from their premises, enabling a more optimized supply chain.

> Samskip offers pan-European, environmentally responsible combined transport services via shortsea, road, rail and inland waterway routes. We are committed to cost-effectiveness, operational excellence and best practice in sustainable transport.

High frequency services connect destinations across Europe, the Baltic States, Russia and Central Asia, both door-to-door (including collection) and quay-to-quay, transported using a wide range of owned vessels, containers, trucks and trailers. To match equipment to cargoes shipped, options include a full range of ISO containers and reefers, including 33-pallet capacity 45ft units.

In all cases shippers can make real choices based on frequency of service, transit times, freight rates and sustainability.