Emilia-Romagna Intermodal Cluster: On July 7th in Bologna, companies will share their intermodal experiences

ER.I.C. (Emilia-Romagna Intermodal Cluster) is a collaborative network of companies representing the main intermodal infrastructure operators and the Emilia-Romagna Region. Among the primary objectives of the Cluster are the growth of the Emilia-Romagna intermodal system, both in the domestic and international market, and the support for the strengthening of sector skills.

ER.I.C., with the support of the ITL Foundation, has organized an online event on July 7th, 2021 at 9:00 am, where important managers of companies active in the regional territory, will talk about their successful experiences in the development of rail freight transport projects.

In a region with an excellent manufacturing sector (25.1% of total employees compared to an Italian average of 18.4% and a European average of 15.4%), dedicated to internationalization (the top region for exports per capita) and open to attracting new foreign investments, promoting the modal rebalancing of the freight transport system is a shared priority among industry, rail intermodality companies, and institutions.

During the conference (of which SUPPLY CHAIN ITALY is a media partner), the “Regional Alliance for Rail Freight Transport” will be launched, an initiative for collaboration between the business world that demands transport services, intermodal service providers who offer alternative solutions to road transport, and institutions that plan and support the strengthening of transport infrastructure and policies to incentivize rail freight transport on the territory. The convergence of these forces towards environmentally friendly, safe, and reliable freight transport, in line with the main national and European policies, will outline the lines of development of the intermodal sector for the future.

Supply chain managers from leading companies in various sectors, ranging from food to mechanics and chemistry, will share their success stories regarding the development of intermodal services with good service levels, in line with market lead time requirements, seeking technological solutions to aggregate volumes, developing advanced partnerships with suppliers, and at the same time reducing environmental emissions. This topic has become a priority both for companies and for consumers.

The aim of the conference is to stimulate debate in the regional business world regarding the promotion of collaborative actions to aggregate volumes, in support of modal shift and the diffusion of a culture oriented towards changing returns (delivered to factory). The value of the initiative lies in listening to the direct testimonies of company managers on how, through an optimization of upstream business processes, efficient and punctual intermodal services have been developed, and how attention to intermodality has now become an expression of a way of doing business, also through the co-design of railway terminals in partnership between public and private entities.

The Emilia-Romagna Region, continuously committed to supporting freight rail transport and a pioneer in the development of targeted incentive laws for the sector, will present policies in favour of this mode of transport in an integrated vision between actions for environmental low-impact transport, actions to support business innovation, and actions oriented towards the qualification of sector skills.

The booklet promoted by ER.I.C. and curated by Fondazione ITL entitled Railway Logistics: Job Opportunities, New Skills, and Professional Development, will also be presented during the conference. The booklet aims to demonstrate the importance that railway logistics and intermodal transport have on the contemporary economic and social scene, generating real opportunities for specialization in a dynamic sector full of possibilities.

Statements from ER.I.C. members:

Marco Spinedi, President of Interporto Bologna Spa: “Awareness and involvement of the industrial fabric are essential for the development of intermodal transport. To achieve the goals of the European Green Deal, namely the reduction of 90% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and the transfer of a substantial part of the 75% of internal transport currently taking place on roads over to railways, a concrete commitment from companies is essential. At Interporto Bologna, we are working on ways to increase the railway routes passing through our infrastructure in order to offer an ever-wider range of options to companies.”

Gianpaolo Serpagli, President of Ce.P.I.M. Spa Interporto di Parma: “The synergy between local companies, transport and logistics experts, trade and political associations is essential in producing an excellent result that cannot be achieved individually.”

Armando de Girolamo, CEO of Lotras: “This conference has a dual message: the importance of working together in the territory and the promotion of intermodality as a strategic asset capable of effectively implementing the principles of cost-effectiveness, safety, and sustainability. These are also the features characterizing recent national and community policies, the latter being explicitly expressed in the investment plan of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).”

Giuseppe Acquaro, CEO of Terminali Italia – Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane: “It is necessary for railway transport operators and intermodal facility managers to become fully aware that the goal of maximizing modal transfer by rail will be possible only if this solution is able to contribute to increasing the final value of the product in the complex supply chain, entirely governed by market logic. Therefore, this sector needs to achieve autonomous economic sustainability, designing strategic development scenarios based on developing (independently or in partnership) integrated services that are increasingly consistent with the expectations of major players in the complex supply chain management.”