Kronospan, a major producer of wood-based panels with 41 plants across Europe, Asia, and North America, has introduced a new container block train service between its production sites in Bjelovar, Croatia, and Ponterosso, Italy. This initiative is part of Kronospan's collaboration with Innofreight under the Malta MultiModal project.
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The new service employs the OpenSideTainer XX20 by Innofreight, a container designed to be opened from the side and loaded with up to 100 wood-based panels, each weighing up to 17 tonnes. This container not only enhances safety at the Croatian side, but also makes logistics coordination easier, replaces the movement and coordination of 26 trucks with a single block train.
Upon arrival in Ponterosso, approximately 350 km from Bjelovar, the wood panels are unloaded using forklifts. The containers are then converted into open-top loadable units by removing the flexible hard-top roof. This setup allows front loaders to refill the containers with wood chips and recycled wood for the return journey to Croatia, where new panels are produced.
The introduction of this block train service facilitates the transportation of two different types of goods in a single container. It significantly reduces CO2 emissions by up to 80 percent compared to traditional truck transport, and minimizes empty train runs, making rail transport a more competitive option.
Building on the success of this initiative, Kronospan is considering expanding the same rotation to other destinations, including Romania and the Czech Republic.
