Rail Cargo Group helps Logistics along the value chain

Papierholz Austria GmbH is one of the leading wood purchasing organisations in Central Europe. For the supply of the shareholder plants Heinzel Pöls, Mondi Frantschach, Sappi Gratkorn and Norske Skog Bruck, it relies on a sophisticated railway logistics solution – from the loading of wood chips and logs to precise delivery. A collaboration that shows how logistics is conceived and realised along the entire value chain.

Papierholz Austria and ÖBB Rail Cargo Group (RCG) have enjoyed a close partnership for over 20 years. The wood purchasing company acts as a link between forest owners and the wood processing industry. With a turnover of around 500 million euros and 54 employees, it is one of the key players in the industry. Over 6.5 million cubic metres of wood are procured every year – around a third of which already travels by climate-friendly rail.

Supply of the Heinzel Pöls plant
RCG is a central logistics partner for Papierholz Austria – and for good reason: commissioned by the wood purchasing company, RCG transports wood chips and logs to the receiving plants – such as the Heinzel Pöls plant. Here, the delivered wood is processed into high-quality pulp, which is mainly used for paper production.

Most of the wood comes from Austria, with a small proportion coming from neighbouring countries. A total of 1.4 million tonnes of incoming and outgoing goods are transported by climate-friendly rail in Pöls every year. This corresponds to around 40,000 freight wagons per year, which are handled via the company's own siding – and the trend is rising. There is a clear focus on CO2 reduction – not only in production, but also in logistics.

Everything in view thanks to MIKE – the digital logistics platform
With a view to future-oriented and efficient transport, Papierholz Austria is planning complete system integration via a digital interface: in future, empty wagon orders, transport orders and shipment tracking will be carried out directly from the company's own system. This will make manual exchange via Excel lists, e-mails, telephone calls or additional system access procedures a thing of the past. This is made possible by MIKE, RCG's digital logistics platform, which maps all process steps digitally, transparently and automatically. The planned integration with Papierholz Austria's systems enables precise control of transport – even when things have to be done quickly or when quantities vary at short notice. Digital processing via MIKE combines all interfaces into a functioning whole – and shows what modern timber logistics looks like today: networked, forward-looking and, above all, sustainable.

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