Boost in collaboration with SCA logistics

Increased volumes and new types of freight. This is the result thus far of CMP’s collaboration with SCA Logistics. Malmö is the hub for environmentally-friendly local shipping, which transports everything from paper products and new cars to large machinery and recycled fibre.

The collaboration got underway in spring 2016 when SCA Logistics started to use its own RoRo ships to ship paper products from Northern Sweden to CMP – primarily newsprint to customers in Denmark.

“Since then, the traffic has been expanded and we now also deliver newsprint to customers in Eastern Europe via Malmö. The experiences are positive. There is a desire to develop the collaboration and the service from both our side and from CMP,” reports Lotta Åkre, chartering manager at SCA Logistics AB.

This year shipments of newsprint will amount to about 40,000 tonnes. It involves environmentally-friendly local shipping, with SCA’s ships calling at CMP every week en route further south in Europe. Besides ship arrivals, our collaboration also comprises storage and handling of paper products at CMP. Return loads also commenced later during 2016. It comprised Danish recycled paper that was collected in Malmö for onward transport to SCA’s paper mills.

“Today CMP is one of four hubs in Southern Sweden for this operation. The volumes have increased and recycled fibre is now also collected from a range of locations in Southern Sweden,” says Patrik Lilja, purchasing manager for recycled fibre within SCA Logistics.

About 1,000 tonnes of recycled fibre are now shipped every week from CMP. Patrik Lilja emphasises that the port’s strategic location makes it a suitable site for handling recycled fibre. CMP’s terminals are situated in close proximity to two metropolitan areas where there is extensive use of paper. This creates opportunities for SCA.

“In the practical handling CMP functions as our extended arm. They also support us in the administrative work, are flexible and manage the high work load that arises in periods,” Patrik Lilja observes.

Over time the return loads have expanded and recycled fibre has been joined by new cars, which are transported from Malmö to end customers in Northern Sweden.

“Between 60 and 80 cars a week are transported with SCA’s RoRo ships. The handling is fully integrated with our car terminal, which is the largest in Scandinavia,” says Ann-Charlotte Halldén-Åkeson, Key Account Manager at CMP.

“SCA is good at finding and realising new business opportunities,” she continues. We contribute through paving the way for new initiatives and developing the collaboration, including through adapting the service and the technology of our machinery.

This adaptation is facilitated by the fact that CMP now leases a large number of work vehicles and so it is consequently easier – in dialogue with the customer – to bring in new technology if and when it is needed.

On its way southwards, SCA’s RoRo ships visit CMP before proceeding to Kiel, where they turn around. In the next stage SCA and CMP perceive opportunities to also expand the volume of freight between Kiel and Malmö.

“There is a potential here that we are currently looking at, for example, in terms of trailers and rolling freight,” Lotta Åkre says. ”Another possibility is to expand the services between Northern Sweden and Malmö. Our ships are flexible and suitable for transporting large machinery and other types of project loads. We are holding discussions about this and anticipating getting started with new collaborations as early as before the turn of the year.”