Inauguration of the HTA Hupac Terminal Antwerp
Antwerp, 26. January 2010

Hans-Jörg Bertschi, President of the Board of Directors of Hupac Ltd

Dear, respected Ladies and Gentlemen,

a warm welcome to the formal opening of our new HTA Hupac Terminal Antwerp. Outside it’s a very GREY and cold day, but here inside this festive marquee, we are celebrating the completion of a new corner-stone for the “GREEN Logistics“ concept.

“Green Logistics” – a topic with which we will be constantly more engaged in the future.

• For many companies, CO2 emissions represent a considerable cost factor, and we assume that the cost of CO2 emissions will continue to rise.
• Energy will become scarce and expensive in the future. Whoever saves energy, reduces costs and emissions. Especially on the topic of energy, it’s becoming widely accepted that protection of the environment and profitability are not two conflicting issues.
• Governments too will engage in further regulations in the future; because it’s a matter of protecting society as a whole.
• Environmental awareness of consumers is increasing – and it is likely to increase even further in the future. Protection of the environment is already an important competition factor for many industries, including transportation.
• Generally, the topic of environment promotes sense and identification. It’s about to become a glue which holds together the employees in the companies and society as a whole.

It’s not surprising that more and more companies are changing their ways of thinking. They seek ways in which they can support the demands for environmental sustainability. “Green Logistics” establishes an important framework for doing so. Its key measures – load factor optimisation, volume bundling, route optimisation and modal shift – have always been basic components of combined transport. Hupac travels with highest-possible volumes on best-loaded trains between most central terminals by rail. On the establishment of Hupac in Switzerland 40 years ago, the topic of GREEN was not a problem, instead WHITE - in the form of snow, which blocked the transport of goods across the Alps for months each year. The idea of transporting truck units by train was a breakthrough idea at that point in time, and is still one today. In 2009, Hupac transported around 607,000 road consignments on hundreds of traffic lanes across Europe – and saved 700,000 tons of CO2 as well as 8.5 billion megajoules of energy as compared to road transport. At this point, I wish to sincerely thank our customers for their trust - and cordially invite them to further support the Green Logistics concept, with even higher volumes on even better occupied trains; leading to even greater success.

Critics among you may think of Green Logistics as a cheap measure to polish-up the image. Well, it is not. Despite economic crisis it remains a key issue, and for many companies it gains even more significance. The HTA Hupac Terminal Antwerp is such an example. The facility is of strategic importance for the further development of our network. The construction costs of 22 million Euros are a consciously calculated investment in the future. Hupac has been investing more than 190 million Euros in the period from 2005 to 2010: for the HTA, for the Combinant terminal in Antwerp in collaboration with BASF and IFB, which will start operations in a few months, for the expansion of the Busto Arsizio terminal, the acquisition of modern rolling stock and the further development of the network.
Naturally, the economic crisis also hit Hupac and has not gone by without leaving a mark. For the first time in our forty-year history, Hupac recorded a two-digit downturn of minus 13.5 percent. However, we are satisfied with the results achieved:

• Firstly, stabilisation took place relatively quickly, and for months the curve shows a steep upwards trend.
• Secondly, we got off lightly compared to other transport sectors and other companies. 
• Thirdly, Hupac responded quickly and carried out the necessary measures with the essential energy: consolidation of the network, cost reductions and supporting measures for the market.
• And fourthly, we are now stronger than before. We have continued with strategic investments, we are reviewing our processes, and we have advanced into new markets despite the crisis. 

Today, Hupac is Europe’s leading intermodal provider. Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Romania, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Scandinavia – the market is able to rely on a dense network of intermodal connections. And a network that is also in constant development. We will soon be establishing new connections between Antwerp and Verona, as well as between Rotterdam and Verona. In Romania we are steering towards the economic area of Ploiesti; we will connect Spain with Italy on the route Barcelona – Busto Arsizio; and for traffic through the Swiss Alps, a connection for 4-meter trailer transport between Cologne and Novara will start in February.
As you see, ladies and gentlemen, Hupac moves ahead – and Hupac shows new perspectives for the market according to a clear strategy. We have a dream: By the year 2020, long distance transport in Europe will choose rail. Three requirements are necessary for this:

• More rail infrastructure investments across Europe 
• Real competition in rail markets
• And fair competition between road and rail

Today we celebrate the opening of a new infrastructure for combined transport. With the HTA Hupac Terminal Antwerp, we have new capacity for transferring freight from road to rail. At the terminal, which everybody is welcome to visit later, up to twelve train pairs can be handled daily, which corresponds to a loading capacity of 600 road consignments per day. During the starting phase, the HTA will handle five train pairs per day, with destination Basel/Aarau and Busto Arsizio. My sincere and heartfelt thanks go to the Port Authority, who has paved the way for the new infrastructure; as well as DP World, which has provided considerable support for the project. 

As we have already seen on the timeline, Antwerp today is a central hub in the Hupac Shuttle Net. Every day, eight trains roll into the hinterland from the port area: to Italy and Switzerland, to southern France and on to Spain and Portugal, to Germany and on to Poland and Russia. The HTA and the future Combinant Terminal create space for the further development of intermodal transport. However, in many economic areas, insufficient terminal and rail infrastructure limit the opportunities of combined transport. And it’s obvious: without terminals there’s no intermodal traffic!

Equally as important, are also the conditions under which the companies can make use of the existing infrastructure. Competition brings dynamic into the world of rail. Competition helps create attractive offers, which convince the transport industry of the strength of combined transport. We need railway companies that don’t shy away from competition in order to successfully compete with the road. Speed, flexibility, customer orientation – the railways can and must do better if they don’t want to miss out on the trend towards Green Logistics.

Hupac has been supportive of the market opening since the beginning. We are free to choose our rail partners, we have own rail licenses, and some years ago, we implemented the concept of integrated cross-border traction responsibility from source to destination. With the opening of the HTA Hupac Terminal Antwerp, we have laid another milestone: all railway companies are welcome at our terminal, and that’s an important condition for open rail markets. Because we want to grow together; with our customers and rail partners, in keeping with our motto “Moving together”.

However, in the field of our new terminal, some wishes still remain open. We have the necessary capacity, we bundle maritime traffic with the continental traffic of the industries based in the harbour area, and we offer free access to all rail operators. But we nevertheless view necessary action in a few areas of port logistics. We need an open market for shunt services, in which various providers can compete and differentiate their services – in terms of better services, competitive prices and intelligent solutions. And we need open access to all local rail infrastructures – whether it be ports, terminals, fuel stations, shunting yards or maintenance workstations.

There’s still a long way to go for Green Logistics, ladies and gentlemen. Our new HTA Hupac Terminal Antwerp is only one step of many others that are necessary for the success of the concept. I am confident that we can achieve a great deal together.