Continental is building its own fleet of railway cars: the first batch of grain carriers has been delivered

Continental is building its own fleet of railway cars: the first batch of grain carriers has been delivered

11 September 2024

Continental Farmers Group is expanding its logistic capacities and developing its railway logistics business by creating its own fleet of grain transporters. The company has already received the first 50 of 250 planned hopper wagons with the capacity of 116 m³. The large-cube wagons allow for the most efficient use of their carrying capacity (up to 70.5 tonnes) when transporting all the main crops grown on Continental's fields. The Company plans to receive the remaining wagons under the contract in several batches over the coming months.

According to Georg von Nolcken, CEO of Continental Farmers Group, the decision to purchase its own grain wagons is the next logical step for the company after the acquisition of two new grain elevators. Continental expanded its storage capacities in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv regions in 2021 and 2024, respectively.

We continue to confidently implement our strategy of developing our own supply chain despite all the difficulties caused by the current situation in the country. After Continental solved the problem of the lack of elevator capacity and even created the opportunity to provide services for third parties, the acquisition of the wagon fleet allows us to continue to provide logistics for our own trading and develop this area of work properly,’ explained Georg von Nolcken.

Continental expects that after delivery of all 250 ordered grain wagons, the company will be able to cover a significant part of its annual demand for rail freight transportation with its own rolling stock. The remainder will continue to be met through freight forwarding services from external suppliers. The decision to further expand Continental's wagon fleet will depend on the level of efficiency of the chosen management model and market conditions in the coming seasons.