Railway project: in the interest of sustainability and traffic reduction
In order to reduce the impact of the transportation of the refractory materials on the region and the environment in the future, RHI Magnesita is investing an additional EUR 1.3 million in the conversion from trucks to railway. Describing the background for the traffic reduction measure, Mr. Cordt said, “This step towards sustainability is intended to show that we take responsibility for the communities in which we operate. We see ourselves as a member of society and therefore have a contribution to make. This is not only true for Hochfilzen – it represents our global corporate philosophy.” Specifically, the sintered dolomite from Hochfilzen will be transported by rail to France, where it will be processed further at the sister plants in Flaumont and Valenciennes. Roughly 40 different high-grade dolomite products are produced at these sites.
The French ambassador to Austria, His Excellency François Saint-Paul, stressed the outstanding cooperation between France and Austria, saying, “I am very happy that RHI Magnesita chose the Hauts-de-France region to manufacture essential products for the entire European steel industry. The railway connection between the plant in Tyrol and the sites in France is not only an important signal from an environmental standpoint. It is also a symbol for the connection between our two countries.”
RHI Magnesita will reduce truck traffic in more ways than just transporting the sintered dolomite to France by rail. The transportation of the raw material from the mining site at Schipfl mountain to the plant in Hochfilzen will also contribute to decreasing freight traffic. In the future, the raw material will be transported underground through an adit stretching roughly 1,000 meters. This will lead to a significant reduction in the level of noise and traffic for the residents of Hochfilzen and the surrounding communities. With these two transportation measures, RHI Magnesita will reduce truck traffic from 12,000 trips per year to a maximum of 9,500 starting in 2020. Following the completion of the overall project at the end of 2023, the number of trucks per year is expected to drop to 5,000.
Mr. Cordt concluded the press conference by expressing his thanks: “I’d like to sincerely thank the governor and the ambassador for the excellent cooperation and for joining us for today’s festivities. And not least, I want to express my tremendous gratitude to the entire project team at RHI Magnesita, which has already displayed amazing dedication in the development of the project so far. I wish them all the best for the implementation and hereby sound the starting gun for the realization of the Dolomite Resource Center Europe.”