As part of its logistics infrastructure, the globally active Bertschi Group operates an important rail terminal in Birrfeld for container transhipment between road and rail. The site is also home to a multi-storey office building, a container workshop and a tank cleaning facility. Due to energy-intensive activities carried out at the site, the total electricity consumption is 750,000 kWh. This corresponds to the annual consumption of approximately 187 households. With the installation of solar panels on the roofs of the three buildings, 240,000 kWh of energy can now be produced annually, covering about 30% of the electricity needs. A further 10% of the electricity is saved through process optimisations and investments in system renewals.
"In our corporate strategy, we have set binding targets for the reduction of our CO2 emissions and, to this end, we have also targeted the construction of solar plants at our locations. I am pleased that we have been able to realise a further step towards achieving these goals with the project in Birrfeld," explains Hans-Jörg Bertschi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bertschi Group. "Through intermodal transport – Bertschi handles 90% of its orders involving rail and short sea – we can already save 70% of CO2 emissions compared to direct road transport. The use of solar energy for our terminal activities enables us to further reduce our ecological footprint and offer even more sustainable services," adds Jan Arnet, CEO of the Bertschi Group.
Accordingly, the solar installations in Birrfeld are only intended to be an intermediate step, with other locations following suit. There are concrete plans to install another system at the Group’s headquarters in Dürrenäsch, which can generate up to 460,000 kWh of electricity and thus cover the annual needs of 115 households. In this sense, the journey has only just begun.
Bertschi Group is a global logistics service provider for the chemical industry specializing in liquids and dry bulk transportation. The family business, headquartered in Switzerland, was founded in 1956 and generates an annual turnover of 1.02 billion Swiss Francs. The Group has over 3,230 employees working across 79 subsidiaries in 38 countries, providing high-quality logistics services and local customer support.
Bertschi operates a fleet of 40,000 tank and dry bulk containers, 1,000 trucks, and 30 container terminals. The company is market leader in European intermodal transportation of chemicals by rail, road, and waterway. Bertschi is furthermore one of the leading worldwide providers of tank container transportation and supplementary value-added logistic services for the chemical industry. Major subsidiaries of Bertschi outside of Europe are located in Shanghai, Singapore, Houston, Sao Paulo, Dubai, Al-Jubail (Saudi Arabia), and Istanbul.
Bertschi AG
Hutmattstrasse 22
CH5724 Dürrenäsch
Telefon: +41 (62) 76767-00
Telefax: +41 (62) 76768-00
http://www.bertschi.com
Bertschi Group CEO
Telefon: +41 (62) 76768-57
E-Mail: jan.arnet@bertschi.com
CEO
Telefon: +41 (62) 67667-30
Fax: +41 (62) 767-6800
E-Mail: hjb@bertschi.com
Communication & Marketing
Telefon: +41 (62) 55569-65
E-Mail: beat.berner@bertschi.com