Terminal chipping of beech pulpwood : a study on chip terminals and chip transportation from the German state of Thüringen

Abstract: This is a comparative study of two logistic systems. One of the systems is the logistic system that exists today and the other system is an alternative new logistic system. The present logistic system includes the transportation of beech pulpwood from Thiiringen Wald in Germany to Nymölla pulpmill in Sweden. This study has investigated the possibilities of making chips from bcech pulpwood in Germany instead of making chips at the pulpmill in Sweden. Building a chipping terminal by the railway in Thuringen may prove to be an advantageous logistic solution. The main purpose of our research has been to reduce transport costs and to solve logistic problems for Stora Enso Forest Central Europe (SEFCE). Information on different parts of the systems has been collected through discussions. After discussions and meetings a calculation model was constructed. Sensitivity analyses were made to try to assess the systems working potential in different situations. The most interesting questions about the new system are: 1) Is the system viable in reality? 2) Is it profitable? 3) Which factors are the most important for the end result? A few factors affect the system more than others. The most significant factor affecting the result is the price that Nymölla is willing to pay for the chips. Other important factors that are affecting the costper cubic metre are: 1) The Deutsche Bahn fare. 2) The density of the wood and the loading volume of the railway wagons. 3) The wood consumption rate and the utilisation of machines. After having studied the results from the calculations and analyses the conclusion is that the new system is better compared to the present system, provided that the machines are optimally used. The debarker is the machine that has to be optimally used. However, calculations from the model show that the new logistic system is not profitable using the reference figures. If any of the factors above are affected in a positive direction the new system might be more profitable compared to the old. There are also many others advantages in the new system that can save a lot of money. For example, one of the factors that is hard to predict is the consumption of wood in the pulpmaking process. If the wood is a little bit fresher the consumption per tonne would be reduced and a lot of money could be saved.