NLMK Introduces New Product Transportation Scheme

NLMK Group, a global steel company, has introduced the use of polymer materials instead of timber for the transportation of steel semis, for the first time in the history of international commercial shipping. The new transportation scheme saves more than RUB 100 million and 13,000 m3 of timber annually.

Previously, timber was used as lining when transporting metal by sea. Every year, close to 13,000 m3 of timber, or almost three railway trains, would be used for this purpose. In the new scheme, timber is replaced with reusable fasteners made from special polymer materials.

Now, 20 times less timber is required for shipping a batch of metal. At the same time, there is no need to recycle used timber, whereas demand for recycling household plastic waste into polymer material is incentivized. 50,000 1.5-liter plastic bottles are needed to produce new polymer fasteners for transporting a 5,000-tonne batch of slabs. The new fasteners are easy to use, accelerating the process of loading steel semis onto a ship.

The new transportation scheme is now being used on the Kaliningrad – Frederiksværk (Denmark) route. The scheme will be scaled up within the NLMK Group supply chain.