Green steel made with green energy. Since the beginning of 2021, Stahlwerk Thüringen GmbH has exclusively used green energy – generated by Scandinavian hydroelectric power plants – across its entire manufacturing process. After all, sustainability is a central tenet of the long-standing company’s corporate policy. In the town of Unterwellenborn, nestled in the heart of east-central Germany, consistency is the name of the game, so sustainability efforts are not limited to just the production process. “When it comes to sustainability, we’re looking at the big picture. Logistics processes are a decisive factor here,” says Markus Beck of the transport systems department at Stahlwerk Thüringen GmbH. This is also why the company has been using DB Cargo’s DBeco plus and DBeco neutral services for CO₂-free transports since the beginning of the year.
DB Cargo’s eco-solutions are impressive
“Right from the start, we were highly enthusiastic about DB Cargo’s services,” says Martin Querengaesser of the transport systems department at Stahlwerk Thüringen GmbH. “We have a great affinity for the railway and, in the long-term, we’d like to shift all our transports to rail.” To do so, the company will continue to invest in its own private siding in the coming years to increase its capacity. At present, the company exports some 300,000 tonnes of steel across Europe with every trainload. Roughly 71,000 tonnes of every load are shipped directly to Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands using DBeco plus in Germany and DBeco neutral on the international route sections. By choosing rail over road transport, Stahlwerk Thüringen GmbH directly reduces its CO₂ emissions by approximately 3,000 tonnes. “We’re already receiving positive feedback from our customers about our carbon-neutral production and transports,” says Querengaesser. He is pleased with the company’s success in focussing on sustainability.
Transporting CO₂-free over the long haul
Sustainability is so strongly anchored in the company’s philosophy that Stahlwerk Thüringen GmbH has decided to enter into a five-year contract with DB Cargo right away. “This is a highly unusual move, but of course we’re very pleased about it,” says Maximilian Schaeffer, account manager with DB Cargo. “Stahlwerk Thüringen GmbH is one of the first companies planning for the long-term like this, which has made it a true pioneer across all industries.” The process of coordinating CO₂-free transports went surprisingly quickly, too. The company’s main focus was so clearly defined that it took less than two months to shift its transports to DBeco plus. According to Markus Beck, “CO₂-free transports may not be the cheapest option, but they’re the right choice.”
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