1. Uddeholm Case Study for APICS Journal (700 words; photos available)
Uddeholm Sharpens Its Competitive Edge By Shipping More Efficiently
Mobile Transport Trays Speed Shipping, Improve Safety & Impresses Customers
Most companies claim they have a competitive edge, but Sweden’s Uddeholm can prove it. The
company is a leading global supplier of the highly technical powdered steel that creates the
sharpest knives and other cutting and grinding instruments. That is just one of its many steel-
oriented product lines.
Other proof of the company’s competitive leadership is its growth as a steel supplier serving more
than 100 countries with 3,000 employees around the world. Established in 1668, Uddeholm has
been associated with knowledge, innovative spirit and the special quality of Swedish steel.
Throughout its entire history the company has been among the first to develop and use new
processes and technologies.
Faster Freight Loading & Unloading
Two years ago the company was looking for a way to improve its shipping. Specifically it wanted
to speed up the shipping process through faster loading and unloading to save money, improve
worker safety and create a competitive edge.
To accomplish that the company looked for a way to use regular enclosed containers for steel
bars instead of open top containers. It also wanted to secure the goods without requiring a lot of
labor or time to do so.
Their reasons were simple: First, it takes an extra hour for two workers to remove and replace
the tarp that covers the roof of an open container. That translates into 100 work hours a year per
container. Second, open top containers are considered special equipment and are not always
readily available. Third, open top containers usually require reposition costs and special
equipment surcharges that can cost up to $2,000. Additionally, using regular enclosed containers
allows shippers to bid with all carriers, giving a shipper greater negotiating power.
Stefan Sjögren, Vice President Logistics at Uddeholm, said that one of the issues was that their
products varied in size and shapes, from steel pieces on pallets to big blocks with diameters up to
800 mm with lengths ranging from a few centimetres up to 5½ meters.
To accomplish its goals Uddeholm adopted the Mobile Transport Tray (MTT) designed by
Innovative Transport Solutions, LLC (Bensenville, IL). The MTT allows shippers to load and
unload containers in less than five minutes, thus eliminating detention and drops and picks.
Freight Easily Secured
Sjögren notes that freight is easily secured to the MTT and simply rolled into a container for
transport. He said that using the MTT has lowered labor costs both at origin and destination;
reduced dunnage (pallets and packing materials); has made for faster trans-loading and the
ability to convert flatbed loads to rail enclosed service.
A key feature of the MTT is the ability to eliminate situations requiring top-loading containers that
require expensive and time-consuming cranes and forklifts. A loaded MTT is simply rolled into a
container.
Uddeholm is using ten 20-foot containers a week and intends to expand the use of MTT to other
markets.
Customer Benefits Drives Decision-Making

2. Sjögren said Uddeholm is especially pleased with the MTT’s ability to allow its customers to
increase their efficiency. Uddeholm is known to work closely with its customers and improve the
way it does business. The company has long had a “listen and learn approach,” along with a
commitment to R&D that helps its customers stay ahead of the game and produce novel products
with cutting-edge properties. The company's offer to customers includes outstanding services,
technical advice and best in class products.
For Uddeholm, quality is not only the properties of the material; the company’s view on quality is
that it embraces the entire value chain from raw material to finished product for the end user. The
quality systems of Uddeholm production facilities are certified according to ISO 9001, as are most
of its sales companies.
Uddeholm is always mindful of worker safety. Its use of the MTT eliminates the need to lift the
heavy steel bars 8-to-10 feet over container walls. Now all they have to do is roll the bars into a
shipping container via the MTT.
Uddeholm also works to preserve the environment so that future generations will live to share
what we enjoy today. The company always strives to do its work with the least possible
environmental impact.
Uddeholm’s use of the Mobile Transport Tray eliminates more than 95 percent of its dunnage for
blocking and bracing, thus saving many trees and the cost of lumber. Uddeholm environmental
consciousness also extends to the use of recycled materials whenever possible. Uddeholm has
underscored its environmental commitment by working toward ISO 14001 certification for a
cleaner future.
Since 1991 Uddeholm has operated as a business unit of Böhler-Uddeholm AG, today owned by
voestalpine AG.
About ITS
Innovative Transport Solutions (ITS) is a provider of freight services, and developer and marketer
of two freight loading and unloading products that save shippers and receivers time and money
and improves worker safety.
The Bensenville, IL based company, near O’Hare International Airport, offers a full suite of
international and domestic freight services, including trailer load (TL), less-than-trailer load (LTL),
rail, ocean, trans-loading, cross-border, warehousing and related services.
The company’s products are the MTT and the Portable Roller Bed System (PBS) both which
provide more efficient freight loading and unloading of containers, trailers and delivery trucks.
PBS, converts wooden trailer floors into partial or full roller beds trailers, thus creating a roller bed
trailer at a fraction of the cost of full-time roller bed trailers.
More information about Innovative Transport Solutions, LLC. may be found at
www.InnovativeTransportSolutions.com.
###
For photos & more information, please contact Michael Beightol, Coyote Marsh & Associates, Inc.,
847.277.7353; mbeightol@coyotemarsh.com.