The construction sector is booming and the demand for building materials is on the increase, especially imports of prefabricated pre-cast concrete products. The most efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transport of these products is by sea.

Currently there are two companies that deliver pre-cast concrete products from the Baltic States via Port of Södertälje. One of these is Latvian company UPB that has exported goods to Sweden for over ten years. UPB has two factories in Latvia that produce 155 000 tons of pre-cast concrete products per year that include pre-cast stairs, walls and lift shafts.

"We are in contact with several major ports in Sweden. We use Port of Södertälje for the delivery of products destined for the Stockholm region," says Ingus Siksna, logistics manager at UPB. "The location’s ideal and Port of Södertälje is flexible, has a good infrastructure and the equipment to handle our products."

As construction projects in the Stockholm region increase so do UPB’s exports of materials to meet the demand. Customers include NCC, Wästbygg and Skanska that are currently building an extension to Södertälje’s regional hospital. The hospital project will be ready by 2018 and UPB are expected to deliver in the region of 14 000 tons of pre-cast concrete products to the site.

Intensive work is going on at Port of Södertälje in the increased handling capacity of concrete products where container handling can be combined with concrete products as the Port has the both the crane and truck capability which are well suited for both types of freight.

"We believe it is important to niche ourselves within this area with regard to our logistical location and the amount of construction taking place in the Stockholm region, both now and in the future," says Per Fredman, marketing manager at Port of Södertälje. "We are able to handle housing modules, pre-cast bridge elements and other construction materials in a completely different way compared to a few years ago and in line with our strategy of moving with the times. We look forward to an increase in this type of freight to the Port."

Source: http://bit.ly/1RzdpKd