More efficient logistics together

Scania is Ahola’s long-standing partner. Scania’s trucks have been an important part of our fleet of transport vehicles since as far back as the late 1950s. We have also produced transport and logistics solutions on different routes for Scania for over 25 years. In 2022, our co-operation expanded when we established a logistics centre for Scania in Nykvarn, Sweden.

Our first electric truck is helping us to learn, e.g. how to optimise electricity consumption and the right time to charge the battery. »

SCANIA IS THE WORLD’S leading supplier of transport solutions. The company manufactures trucks and buses for heavy transports, and provides various services related to its product range.

We have handled Scania’s crossdocking arrangements for the past 16 years. In 2022, Scania tendered out a similar service in Sweden. Scania ended up choosing our solution, which included a new logistics centre in Nykvarn, near Scania’s Södertälje production unit. Thanks to that contract, our business in Sweden doubled.

We are responsible for transporting the freight that arrives from Scania’s various manufacturers and subcontractors to our logistics centre in Nykvarn, for re-sorting and re-loading the goods and transporting them 4 or 5 times a day to Scania’s production units 15 kilometres away in Södertälje. We also transport sorted goods from Nykvarn to Scania’s other units in Sweden and Europe. This helps Scania optimise not only their production units but also their logistics chain.

The internal logistics of Scania’s units is precisely optimised and scheduled, which is why it is critical for the goods to be in the right place at the right time. Our new logistics centre in Nykvarn and the transport system built around it help ensure that goods arrive at the production unit in a controlled and precise manner.

New electric truck was part of the deal

The logistics centre demanded major investments from us, not just in infrastructure construction, but also in terms of hiring employees and in forklifts. Our entire business location’s processes had to be re-planned.

One of our biggest, but at the same time most exciting, investments was the purchase of an electric truck, which was part of Scania’s quotation request when seeking a crossdocking operator. We received the electric truck at the turn of the year, and we now use it for all driving between Nykvarn and the Södertälje production units. Driving the electric truck takes some practice, as it requires a different driving style compared to a traditional truck. Our first electric truck is helping us to learn, e.g. how to optimise electricity consumption and the right time to charge the battery.

We are pleased that this contract has given us the opportunity to test the use of an electric truck and thus take a step towards the green transition in this area as well.

An electric truck is used for all transports between Nykvarn and the Södertälje production units. The introduction of the electric truck also required investments in charging infrastructure.