A magazine published by Duisburger Hafen AG June 2009 - Duisport

14 duisport magazine June 2009 EVENTS 10th Logistics Forum Duisburg
The outdoor sequence at the D3T-Terminal in logport I attracted great interest despite the rain.
logistics expertise has grown historically
and is deeply anchored. The existing
dense network of transport routes on land,
on water and in the air demonstrates this.
However, of necessity the region has had
to live from its reserves for decades. Now
investment is vital for the Ruhr region as a
modern industrial, services and logistics
location, precisely in cargo transport. It
now strongly depends on better networking
modes of transport with each other,”
reported the patron of the infrastructure
working group of the Initiativkreis Ruhr.
A range of measures were available for
this purpose – including intelligent management
of transport flows, better networking
of transport systems, optimally
linking operational procedures and using
the most suitable mode of transport in
each case. Luetkestratkoetter: “With these
means we can position the Ruhr as a
model conurbation worldwide for mobility
and logistics.” A region that already numbered
3,000 logistics companies with well
over 100,000 employees now.
Sustainably increasing value added
However, to make the Ruhr conurbation
into the largest inland transport turntable
in Europe targeted improvements had to
be made to the infrastructure. This particularly
concerned developing multi-modal
transport nodes and also implementing
rail-based projects and developing the
inland waterways. In this way the value
added on site could be sustainably
increased. Erich Staake also spoke about
the necessity to network locations and
modes of transport. “Over the past few
years we have invested several hundred
thousand Euros in developing the infrastructure
necessary for this,” said the
Chief Executive Officer of Duisburger
Hafen AG. As a current example for the
further networking of the Ruhr conurbation
the Duisburg Port head mentioned
the “Good Luck Express”, a rail shuttle
that connected the ports of Duisburg,
Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund with each
other on every weekday (see also p. 22).
“Via the Port of Duisburg these locations
also obtain a direct connection to the large
seaports in the Netherlands and Belgium,”
reported the CEO. This example also
showed that infrastructure expansion
could only take place with the help of
partners who were as strong as they were
efficient. Staake: “We have been lucky to
be able to attract many of these expert
partners to Duisburg.”
Ecology as an opportunity – Example
SBB Cargo
Of course during this year’s LFD there
were also some workshops again where
experts could withdraw to debate specific
problems. The main theme of the con-
ference was “Sustainability through efficiency
– reduce costs, save resources”. For
example, answers had to be found about
whether logistics can be used as an opportunity
for logistics. For Marco Terranova,
Chief Executive Officer of SBB Cargo in
Italy the answer to this is clear. “In times
of global climate warming and the increasing
growth in traffic we see environmental
awareness and energy efficiency not as
“nice to” but as “must have”. However,
environmental commitment is not a goal
to be reached but a permanent task.” And
although the railway was already an
extremely ecological mode of transport his
company was actively committed to even
further reductions in CO 2 and noise emissions.
For example through energy saving
driving techniques, particle filters and low
noise brakes.
SBB cargo also links the different modes of
transport and commits itself to the most
energy efficient overall transport. “For
example, when transporting 40,000
tonnes of steel, pre-carriage is by ship to
Rotterdam, rail transport from Rotterdam
to North Italy and delivery over the last
few miles is by truck. With this rail transport
alone we save 2,400 tonnes of CO 2
annually compared to the roads,” according
to the expert for cargo transport. Of
course it was not just work, work, work
at the 10th LFD. As always the hosts
from the German Logistics Association
also provided some entertainment for their
guests in the evenings this time. And
many questions were first conclusively discussed
over beer, wine and a musical
background.