In the sawmills, half of each log is turned into solid-wood products, while the remainder either goes into pulp production as hogged chips or to energy production in the form of bark and sawdust. The finished products must be transported quickly, efficiently and without damage to customers in Europe and other parts of the world.

The ideal situation is when transports operate as a continuous flow in harmony with customer requirements and production processes. Intermediate storage costs money. In some cases - when fresh spruce pulpwood or tree seedlings are being transported, for example - speed of transport is a prerequisite of product quality

Everyone gains from sound logistics
SCA has invested considerable resources in the development of efficient transport solutions. Specially designed roll-on-roll-off vessels sail continuously according to fixed weekly schedules between the mills in northern Sweden and terminals on the Continent or in the UK. Whenever possible, they bring back a return cargo, such as recovered paper for SCA Packaging's linerboard mills.

Truck transports are carefully controlled to ensure that distances traveled, operating costs and exhaust emissions are kept to a minimum. Precision control requires information. Today, the actual transport is only a minor part of logistics work. The integrated IT systems that link production, storage, sales and delivery are an increasingly important part of the system, while information and service are increasingly significant aspects of product quality.

Environmental diesel and low-sulfur fuel oil for transports
Not only production processes but also transports affect the environment. SCA uses environmental diesel for timber transports and low-sulfur fuel oil for the company's seaborne transports. Catalytic exhaust-treatment systems, which dramatically reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, are being installed on SCA's vessels.