Scania and Sveaskog join in environmental effort

Scania and Sveaskog join in environmental effort 

Scania is now running a training course in fuel-efficient driving for trucking
companies that haul timber in parts of central Sweden for the Sveaskog forest
product company. Results indicate that after training, the drivers can reduce
their fuel consumption by 9 percent. For these truckers alone, this would
represent 8,000 tonnes less carbon dioxide emissions each year.


Scania's driver training course is designed to meet the requirements of a new
European Union directive on mandatory periodic training of professional drivers.
“Our timber transports by truck total about 70 million kilometres a year. If
their fuel consumption can be lowered by 9 percent, this will save more than 3
litres of diesel fuel and 8,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions,” says Olof
Johansson, Senior Vice President Environment and Social Responsibility at
Sveaskog. 

Sveaskog's investment in driver training is one element of the State-owned
company's efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its silviculture
operations. Sveaskog has signed an agreement with Scania Sweden which covers
training in safe, fuel-efficient driving for about one hundred drivers employed
by trucking companies responsible for hauling timber for Sveaskog in the
Bergslagen and Södermanland regions of central Sweden.

“The hauliers we rely on are deeply involved in the climate change issue. They
want to contribute to environmental work, and consequently this driver training
course has been very favourably received. We are now starting with drivers in
Bergslagen and Södermanland, and obviously we want all the drivers we rely on to
be trained,” says Anders Järlesjö, Head of Logistics at Sveaskog. 

The training course that Scania Sweden is providing to Sveaskog is part of
Scania's global training platform for professional bus and truck drivers. 

“Our agreement with Sveaskog stands on its own commercial merits. The drivers
who participate in the course are trained behind the wheel of the trucks they
use in their day-to-day work, regardless of make,” explains Niklas Sperle, Head
of Market Support at Scania Sweden. 

New EU directive
Scania's driver training course is also designed to meet the requirements of a 
European Union directive on mandatory periodic training of professional drivers.

This directive applies to bus and coach drivers starting in September 2008 and
to truck drivers starting one year later. According to the directive,
professional drivers must undergo 35 hours of periodic training within each
five-year period. This training includes both theoretical and practical sessions
that cover safe driving, fuel-efficient driving and load securing measures.

“In Sweden alone, about 50,000 active professional drivers are covered by the
new directive. This represents a need for 350,000 training days per five-year
period,” Mr Sperle says. 

Profitable investment
“Our experience of driver training in nearly 40 countries is that investments in
driver training pay for themselves in a very short period,” says Claes Åkerlund,
who is commercially in charge of global driver training at Scania.

“It is not just a matter of reduced climate impact and lower fuel costs.
Trained, motivated drivers who actively utilise their knowledge also reduce the
risk of accidents, thus contributing to lower repair costs and reduced risk of
damage to vehicles and their surroundings. Uptime and profitability are likewise
higher. These improvements may lead over time to lower insurance premiums,” Mr
Åkerlund adds. 


For further information, please contact:
Olof Johansson, Senior VP Environment and Social Responsibility, Sveaskog, 
mobile tel. +46 70 586 22 58 
Anders Järlesjö, Head of Logistics, Sveaskog, mobile +46 70 588 12 40 
Niklas Sperle, Scania Sverige, tel. +46 8 553 834 31 
Claes Åkerlund, Scania, tel. +46 8 553 894 97





Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy
transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. A growing
proportion of the company's operations consists of products and services in the
financial and service sectors, assuring Scania customers of cost-effective
transport solutions and maximum uptime. Employing 35,000 people, Scania operates
in about 100 countries. Research and development activities are concentrated in
Sweden, while production takes place in Europe and South America, with
facilities for global interchange of both components and complete vehicles. In
2007, invoiced sales totalled SEK 84.5  billion and the net income amounted to
SEK 8.6 billion. 

Scania press releases are available on the Internet at www.scania.com

Sveaskog is Sweden's largest forest owner, with 15% of the country's productive
forest land, and is a leading supplier of sawlogs, pulpwood and biofuel. The
company works with land sales, offers hunting and fishing opportunities and
makes land available to local entrepreneurs within eco-tourism. The forest is
Sveaskog's core business and the company's vision is to lead the way in the
development of forest values. Sveaskog has annual sales in excess of SEK 7
billion and 726 employees. Sveaskog is owned by the Swedish state.

For more information, see www.sveaskog.se