Novelis has invested €43 million in the expansion of its rail logistics in Europe with the purchase of 220 railcars.
With a share of 95%, rail is the most important means of transportation for material deliveries between Novelis’ 10 European production facilities.
The 220 new Shimmns wagons are flexible in use and enable the transport of aluminium coils, scrap, and aluminium ingots.
They replace the previously rented wagons, which were only suitable for one type of material.
Another advantage is that the additional capacity will allow more aluminium ingots to be transported by train in Germany from Novelis’ facility in Nachterstedt to its Alunorf joint venture plant in Neuss.
Some of these transports were previously carried out by truck due to a lack of train capacity.
This changeover not only should save costs but also CO₂e: approximately 2,000 truck trips and thus 78% of CO₂e emissions can be avoided annually.
Roland Leder, Vice president Supply Chain at Novelis Europe, said: “The new railcars are expected to increase our flexibility, optimise material flows, and enable better utilisation of the trains.
"Thanks to built-in GPS trackers, we always know where each material delivery is currently located.”
The first 30 railcars have already been delivered to Novelis, with the remainder scheduled to be completed by September 2026.
The supplier is On Rail Gesellschaft für Eisenbahnausrüstung und Zubehör mbH from Mettmann, Germany.
The official handover of the first railcars took place on December 2, 2025, at the DUSS terminal in the Göttingen freight transport centre.
