Multimodal circular logistics for Befesa

Befesa is an international recycling and environmental services company. It processes industrial residues from the steel and aluminium industries, recovering valuable materials from them. One example is salt slag, which is generated during aluminium production and further processed in Germany.

End-to-end – from Sweden to Germany 

The transport chain starts in Älmhult, southern Sweden, where MOBILER containers are positioned at the IKEA terminal ready for loading. From there, they are taken to Stena Aluminium, filled with salt slag and then transported to Germany by rail as single wagons. Part of the volume – up to 4,000 tonnes a year – travels via Maxi Terminal Hamm and onwards to Lünen, where the containers are transhipped before being delivered to Befesa’s Lünen site. Most of the volume, up to 11,000 tonnes per year, is bound for Befesa Salzschlacke GmbH in Hannover. There, the containers are transferred using MOBILER trucks, with the unloading point just around 370 metres away.

Round trips instead of empty runs 

The logistics operation does not end with delivery. Around one third of the MOBILER containers are reloaded with RESAL salt and returned. This makes effective use of return flows and reduces empty runs. MOBILER flat wagons and MOBILER halftainers are used for the transports. They enable a flexible switch between rail and road – even where there is no industrial siding directly at the site. 

Fewer trucks on the road

RCG handles 90 per cent of the end-to-end package for Befesa – from rail transport within the single wagonload network through to the provision of MOBILER equipment. By shifting the transports to rail, around 600 lorry journeys for salt slag and a further 240 lorry journeys for RESAL salt are replaced every year. The collaboration with Befesa therefore shows how industrial circular logistics can be organised efficiently and more sustainably.

30.06.2026