Skoda has been presented with the ‘Packaging of the year 2016’ award for their resource-efficient transport solution. The judges from the Czech Packaging Association SYBA chose the automobile manufacturer’s innovative logistics technology for best concept in the automotive category.
Thanks to purpose-built wooden constructions, four instead of the previous three body shells in addition to production parts can be transported in a single container. This means the enterprise has reduced CO2 emissions in transit between the Czech Republic and India by 25 percent. This ‘Green Logistics’ concept is part of Škoda’s ‘Green Future’ environmental protection strategy.
Skoda has developed an innovative 4-in-1 packaging system in cooperation with the packaging supplier company Pilous for shipping painted bodies from the main plant in Mladá Boleslav to the Indian plant in Aurangabad. The Czech automobile manufacturer uses novel wooden constructions, specially made for each model series, to optimize the use of the cargo space in a container.
The carrier systems arrange two bodies horizontally on the floor and two others diagonally above in the limited space. Manufacturing parts can also be fitted into appropriate gaps in the wooden construction and secured for transport.
The 4-in-1-loading technology reduces the number of containers by a quarter. This saves well over 800 tonnes of CO2 per year on the 13,270-kilometre transport route. Nearly all materials used can be recycled.
Resource-efficient logistics solutions have a tradition with Škoda: the Mladá Boleslav car manufacturer was using recyclable wooden constructions for container transport as early as 2000 and progressively developed this technology. Before the millennium, two vehicles were sent to India in each container; by 2006, there were three body shells, including all hardware needed for the final product. Further advancements and comprehensive field tests have since enabled Škoda to implement their 4-in-1 transport system.
