Degussa Commissions Hydrogen Peroxide Tank Terminal near Augsburg, Germany
Advanced logistics for flexibly supplying the pulp and paper industry in southern Germany
23-Oct-2001
Today, at the site of F. B. Silbermann GmbH in Gablingen, near Augsburg, Germany,
Degussa AG's Bleaching and water chemicals Business Unit has commissioned one of
their largest tank terminals for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The tank has a capacity of 1,000
m3. Hydrogen peroxide is widely used as an environmentally friendly bleaching chemical in
the production of paper pulp. Until now, Degussa has shipped H2O2 in tank trucks directly
from its production plant in Rheinfelden, Germany (near Basel, Switzerland), to a number of
customers in southern Germany. With the tank terminal in operation, the time-intensive road
transportation will be shifted to rail transportation from the plant to the tank terminal. In
addition, two other Degussa hydrogen peroxide plants in Weissenstein (near Villach,
Austria) and Antwerp, Belgium, are now conveniently connected with the tank terminal via
rail in a cost-effective and environmentally sound way. Only the short distance supply
between the tank terminal and the regional customers will be covered by road tankers.
In the Augsburg area, Degussa supplies a number of important pulp and paper companies
with hydrogen peroxide. "Instead of expanding tank capacity in our plants, we have
decided to build this tank terminal close to our customers", explains Dr. Klaus Hentschel,
President of Degussa's Bleaching and Water Chemicals Business Unit. Hentschel says that
the investment eliminates several hundred long-distance tank truck deliveries on highways
or narrow village roads from the production plant to the customers, and that long-distance
transportation will now be handled by rail. This will improve, he says, the safety of
transportation and help the environment.
The tank will be equipped with DEGASCAN® NET I, a fully automated remote level control
and re-ordering system. DEGASCAN is Degussa's Vendor Managed Inventory System
(VMI), which automatically monitors shipments from the production plants to the tank and
keeps inventories at a convenient minimum level. "VMI is one of our key elements of
e-business that we use internally and externally with our customers. It guarantees
customers convenient and just-in-time delivery without manual re-ordering processes and
allows Degussa to utilize its plants and transportation equipment more evenly", explains
Hentschel.
The terminal site has been leased by Degussa from the Silbermann company, a chemical
distributor. Both partners have also signed a service agreement, where Silbermann will
operate the terminal on behalf of Degussa and provide supply service to the regional
customers. "This cooperation was an easy fit after Degussa and Silbermann have been
doing business together for decades. The Silbermann site is perfectly connected to major
railroad lines and highways", says Dr. Wilfried Eul, General Manager of Degussa’s
Bleaching Chemicals and Advanced Product Lines.
The Bleaching and Water Chemicals Business Unit employs 1,700 persons worldwide. Four
of its 16 worldwide production sites are located in Germany. Its products are used in the
pulp and paper industry, textile industry, chemical synthesis, water treatment and mining
industry. Degussa is the second-largest producer of hydrogen peroxide, with a capacity of
440,000 metric tons per year.
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