FREJA is pleased to announce that we have opened a third office in China. The new office is located in Qingdao, which is one of the biggest seaports in the Shandong province in North China and the most preferred location for shipping businesses. Currently, many Chinese manufacturers move their factories or build new factories in the Shandong province, and Qingdao is the most favorable port for all kinds of international trading.

The office in Qingdao is headed by Ms. Susan Zheng. Ms. Zheng has a wide experience in the transport and logistics business since she has been involved in industrial project forwarding for 10 years. She will handle all activities such as marketing, project handling, and price sourcing in North China.

[caption id="attachment_12141" align="alignnone" width="800"] FREJA welcomes our new Project Manager in Qingdao, China, Susan Zheng.[/caption]

With the opening of the new office, FREJA now has a service network that covers most of China. With offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and now Qingdao, we offer a wide range of value-added services, so please feel free to contact us to learn more about what we can do for your business.

Availability, simplicity, rapidity. FREJA has something unique to offer and we want to show it to the world. Come, see and hear more in Antwerp in April!

Breakbulk Europe provides excellent business and networking opportunities with more than 400 exhibitors and sponsors and approx. 8000 visitors. Exhibitors and sponsors include cargo owners, ocean carriers, freight forwarders, ports & terminals, heavy haulers, equipment companies and more that are involved in this specialized industry.

The FREJA difference

It can be an advantage to be a smaller player to count among the best within project forwarding. As a smaller or middle sized collaborator, it is easier to be flexible and create customized solutions. We can gather our network fast and focus on each individual project and the needs of the customer.

You are welcome to visit us at the exhibition in Antwerp on 25 - 26 April on stand 420H3, where you can meet our professional international team with plenty of experience and expertise within project forwarding.

If you are interested, you can register by using the banner link below

FREJA Breakbulk Team

[caption id="attachment_759" align="alignnone" width="150"] Hongyi Niu[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_760" align="alignnone" width="150"] Casper Brodersen[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_761" align="alignnone" width="150"] Leo Hu[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_762" align="alignnone" width="150"] Matti Urmas[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_763" align="alignnone" width="150"] Mikael Åback[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_764" align="alignnone" width="150"] Kari Samuelsen Moldeklev[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_765" align="alignnone" width="150"] Trond Inge Rasmussen[/caption]

FREJA is a leading third-party logistics provider with a solid tradition of assisting pharmaceutical companies with GDP and GMP warehouse services, transports, customs clearance, and optimization of services throughout the logistics chain. We make sure to find the best practice and ensure value creation and high quality in cooperation with our customers.

In today's demanding situation, our contribution of delivering vaccines in the fight against Covid-19 is considered crucial. At our logistical center in Oslo, approved by the Norwegian Medicines Agency, FREJA plays an important role in distributing the vaccines. FREJA’s professionals contribute, among other things, with packing test kits as well as in-process control in our GMP approved packaging department before ensuring secure distribution to the right receiving location. The processes are quality assured by our pharmacists.

[caption id="attachment_23391" align="alignnone" width="550"] Our dedicated staff controls and packs supplementary products for the covid-19 vaccines.[/caption]

"We are proud to contribute with our knowledge and capacity, but the most important thing for us is to ensure quality at all levels. FREJA inspects, pack, and labels according to the customer's wishes and needs." - says Joar Bjørndal, Head of Logistics at FREJA in Norway.

Click here for more information about our services within Pharma & Healthcare Logistics, or reach out to us if you want to learn more about what we can do for you.

Social responsibility and sustainability are close to our heart, and we at FREJA are pleased to present the latest CSR report for the year 2020. This report marks the fourth CSR report for FREJA since 2017. In the report, we unveil the initiatives we have worked on in 2020 and the goals we have set to create a better environment and a more sustainable planet.

As a transport and logistics company, we believe that we have a responsibility when it comes to ensuring a greener environment. Our industry is crucial for society, as we contribute to the transport of necessary goods such as medicines, food, and hygiene products, but the effect of this is that the transport sector is responsible for 24% of direct CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. Our critical role in society has been particularly crucial during the pandemic. We have worked hard to keep the supply chains going around the world, and this could not be done without all our professional and dedicated employees on the roads and in the offices.

Despite the pandemic, we have maintained our focus on CSR and followed the planned strategy, as we do not believe that we can postpone our actions and efforts in this area. Since 2018, we have structured our work with CSR according to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Every year, we assess which areas we want to focus on, and in the year 2020, we worked with the following three SDGs:

• 3) Good health and well-being
• 8) Decent work and economic growth
• 12) Responsible consumption and production

[caption id="attachment_27288" align="alignnone" width="1235"] The three SDGs that FREJA has focused on in 2020[/caption]

Orderliness and responsibility are some of the cornerstones of FREJA, and therefore it is important for us to create a healthy working environment and good working conditions for our employees and drivers. This is also reflected in the SDGs that we have chosen to work with.

In the latest report, you can, amongst other things, read about what we do to create a good working environment, why rail freight is an environmentally friendly alternative to road transport, and how we have contributed to the fight against COVID-19.

You can read FREJA's CSR report 2020 here

[caption id="attachment_9226" align="alignnone" width="800"] With her 134m length, the heavy lift vessel, MV Calypso, was a beautiful sight in the port of Vaasa. [/caption]

FREJA’s Project Department in Finland had a busy week at the end of October. “Within one week we handled two vessels in the port of Vaasa, Finland. FREJA has long-term relationships with both clients and they know they can trust our solutions”, explains Project Director in FREJA, Tom Lunabba.

Within 3 hours the vessel was ready to be shipped

The engine had a height of over 5 meters and FREJA was trusted to handle the engine transport from the port of Vaasa to the final shipyard. “Within only 3 hours, we succeeded in loading, lashing, and having the vessel ready to sail in co-operation with the professional stevedoring company in the port of Vaasa” Tom elaborates. The second vessel during that week was even bigger and FREJA successfully handled the full logistical task of the transformer units and parts for the on-going project called Hornsea II.

From client to ship in one day

When everything is well-planned, surprises are easier to handle. The transformer units were transported through the city center of Vaasa and the oversized transport had two escort cars. The challenge was the schedule. The transformer units had to be transported from the client to the port of Vaasa and be shipped on the same day. This kind of achievement says all about the service quality and the workmanship in the port of Vaasa. “The set-up of the transport changed at the last minute, as the client was worried that the freight might get dents. This meant that we only had one day to retrieve enough containers for the transport. Fortunately, we have strong relations in our network, so we managed to have the cargo covered and protected according to the client’s wish”.

FREJA’s Project Department solved all the challenges and the heavy lift vessel, MV Calypso, was able to leave on time and she is now on her way to Singapore to discharge the cargo. Bon voyage!

If you have any challenges, we are more than happy to help. Go to our website for more information or contact Tom Lunabba on tom.lunabba@freja.com or +358 (0)405008953.

Employee welfare and environmental-friendly initiatives continue to be in focus for FREJA

FREJA is pleased to present our CSR report for 2019. In this report, we present the actions we have taken to improve our environmental impact and ensure employee welfare.

“In 2019, we reached our goal of recycling a minimum of 60% of the waste in Norway, and we completed the implementation of ISO 14001 in Finland as well. At 10,3% in 2019, we expect that our Swedish branches in 2020 will reach our group goal of a maximum of 10% when it comes to driving empty km”, Eric Clausen, QES Manager in FREJA explains.

To continue the journey for a better understanding of how our efforts support the environment and climate, we have structured the 2019 CSR report according to UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as was the case in 2018. The SDGs provide a good framework for guidance and inspiration to areas on which companies and society can improve.

[caption id="attachment_14282" align="alignnone" width="800"] Our focus is on SDG 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 16, and 17.[/caption]

We must take responsibility

As one of the largest transport and logistics companies in the Nordic countries, we have a responsibility towards the environment when it comes to preserving and taking care of our planet. The transport industry is number two when it comes to CO2 emissions per year, only followed by the energy industry, and this is something that we are working hard to change for the better. Our company and our employees have an important role in society as we need to make sure the supply chains are running continuously, but we are well aware that our core business has a negative impact on the environment. For this reason, we feel obliged to come up with sustainable solutions that benefit both our customers and the environment.

Innovation and CSR goes hand in hand

We believe that we need to think innovatively to improve. Innovation has always been a part of our work and core values, and recently we decided to increase our focus on innovation in FREJA. In 2018, we established whiteboard meetings, and our innovation concept, Operations Driven Innovation, is being implemented in the organization. Innovation has become an integrated part of our work, and we strive to find innovative solutions in everything we do – whether it is creating innovative value propositions for customers or working with open innovation by teaming up with partners to reduce our CO2 footprint. Not only is innovation the focus point for SDG 9 that concerns industry, innovation, and infrastructure, we also consider it the basis for the rest of the SDGs we work with.

“I am proud of FREJA’s work with the SDGs. We have to keep improving, so we can continue to deliver new results and reach the goals we have set. Everyone in FREJA works hard to find new innovative ways to be more sustainable than we already are, and I am grateful for the effort all the FREJANS put in every day to become more environmental-friendly”, says Ulrik Rasmussen, Group CEO.

Read the CSR report 2019

Read in Danish

Dear reader

Spring is on its way, and we look forward to more daylight and warmer times. The activity level is high in FREJA, and we are happy that we may continue to assist in maintaining the security of supply for our customers.

In the year's first newsletter, you can read about what is happening in our part of the transport and logistics world. On February 1st, FREJA welcomed Morten Bruun-Kristensen as our new Logistics & Healthcare Director in Denmark. We have a plan of expanding our logistics activities, and we are therefore very pleased to welcome Morten to the team to carry this out.

Road safety is crucial to FREJA. Therefore, we are happy to be a part of ITD’s campaign called “Keep away from the truck’s right front tire”. Read more in our newsletter about this initiative which will last throughout most of 2021.

In FREJA, we benefit from letting software robots handle manual routines, thus giving our employees more time to handle other tasks. Recently, we automated a daily routine in our domestic department. In one of the articles, the team explains the significance this has had on their job.

As we informed in our newsletter in November last year, FREJA has merged with SDK, and we have now started a consolidation. We have welcomed new colleagues in our locations in DK-Stilling and DK-Taastrup, and we look forward to presenting the possibilities the new FREJA will be able to offer.

Thank you for your interest in FREJA’s newsletter. I hope you will enjoy your reading.

New strong player in the transport market

The merger has now been approved by the relevant Competition Authorities, and the consolidation has started.

In the last newsletter, we announced that FREJA Transport & Logistics Holding A/S and SDK A/S, owned by USTC, had agreed to merge. The merger has now been approved by the relevant Competition Authorities, and we have started the consolidation of the two units. The staff from SDK Logistics in DK-Jutland has moved in with FREJA in DK-Stilling, and the staff from SDK Logistics in DK-Køge has moved in with FREJA in DK-Taastrup.

For a transitional period, we will work in two companies, but we expect to be fully integrated and have merged the companies by May 1st, 2021.

The consolidation means that all FREJA’s current business units will be merged with SDK’s logistics activities into a new unit in the name of FREJA Transport & Logistics. With the fusion, we will become an even stronger player in the market, as we gather competencies and knowledge from our experienced employees in both SDK and FREJA.

We will continue to develop our business areas and introduce new possibilities to our customers. If you wish to know more about the possibilities offered by the new FREJA, please contact Franz Andersen.

FREJA uses robots to optimize internal processes

At FREJA, we always strive to provide the best service to our customers. We work hard to find new and improved solutions, and our employees are in close dialogue with customers to gain a better insight into their challenges and a greater understanding of their needs. To provide customers with the optimal service, we work on optimizing internal processes. The better the internal processes, the more time there is to help customers.

A lot of time and resources are invested in IT and technology, and our employees are actively working to identify manual processes that can be automated using software robots. Most recently, the domestic department in Stilling has had a manual task automated, which has saved them 20 minutes every day - time that instead can be spent on customers. Before the implementation of the automated solution, the department had to manually go through a customer's bookings every morning. The department looked up approximately 50 bookings daily in the system to check their status and to find out if there were any deviations, but now this process has been automated completely.

"It is fantastic, and a great help to us, that this process has been automated. Every morning, when the robot has reviewed the bookings, we receive an e-mail with an overview of which shipments require our attention. In this way, we can quickly notify customers and thus be proactive, and we can get started on solving the challenges and tasks for the day”, explains FREJA's Kenneth Hornstrup Andersen, Operations Manager Groupage.

The software robot that performs this work thus creates value for both customers and employees. The robot has solved a trivial task for the team, which not only saves time but also reduces the risk of errors since the job has been automated.

Group Finance Business Partner in FREJA, Alexander Skaarup Kristensen, says: “We are constantly working on identifying work tasks that can be carried out by software robots. Some tasks are more complicated than others, but if we succeed, we can eventually eliminate trivial tasks, reduce errors, save time, and provide our customers with better service because we can be proactive”.

FREJA welcomes new Logistics & Healthcare Director in Denmark

On the 1st of February this year, FREJA welcomed Morten Bruun-Kristensen as our new Logistics & Healthcare Director in Denmark.

Morten has most recently been with GEODIS, and he has over 20 years of experience in the transport and logistics industry. For the past 12 years, he has worked specifically with Pharma & Healthcare Logistics, both at the manufacturers and as a consultant and supplier to the industry, where his primary focus was on business development, strategy, and supply chain management.

About starting at FREJA, Morten says: “I have been very well received by all my new colleagues, and it is a pleasure to be a part of FREJA. There is no doubt that FREJA's facilities and expertise in handling Pharma & Healthcare products are at a very high level, and we must constantly see the potential in the business and develop in collaboration with our customers, which I look forward to".

Morten's role involves internal and external business development, as well as the day-to-day management of the logistics employees in customer service and at our 3PL and Pharma & Healthcare warehouse. He has undergone an intense introductory course, where he has, among other things, been around the various locations to greet all the new colleagues and gained a good insight into the work processes.

”FREJA has a desire to expand the activities within the 3PL and Pharma & Healthcare segment, medical equipment, as well as the logistics activities for industrial, construction, and retail goods at our locations in Copenhagen and Aarhus, and we are pleased to have Morten on board to facilitate this", says Jan Sunde, CEO in Denmark.

If you want to know more about FREJA's Pharma & Healthcare solutions, you are more than welcome to contact Morten or your local contact person.

New campaign to prevent right-turn accidents

The organization for the Danish road transport, ITD, has in 2021 started a new campaign called "Bliv væk fra lastbilens højre dæk” (Keep away from the truck’s right front tire). The campaign is part of ITD's national road safety campaign, and the purpose is to draw attention to and prevent right-turn accidents.

There are far too many serious accidents on the roads, which is terrible for all parties involved. For this reason, ITD has started a new campaign, which FREJA is proud to be a part of. 18 other transport companies participate, and 20 very different trucks drive around in Denmark with the vital message. The message is written on a large pink banner to draw attention, and it is placed on one of our Frigo trailers.

“We hope that many people will see the trucks and think about the message so that we together can create more safety on the roads. Attention and focus help to save lives, and the campaign should attract attention", says Malene Vitus, Branding & Communication Consultant at ITD.

As part of FREJA's CSR strategy, we are actively working on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 3.6 strives to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents, and this is one of the SDGs that FREJA focuses on.

“The campaign fits perfectly with our CSR strategy, as well as our values ​​and goals to increase road safety. Our trucks are driving around 24/7, and as a transport and logistics company, we have a responsibility to make it safe to be in the traffic. We have launched several initiatives to increase road safety, and we are happy that ITD has reached out to us regarding this campaign", says FREJA’s QES Manager, Eric Clausen.

Road safety is very important to us, and as part of our work with SDG 3.6, FREJA sets up snow bridges on all of our terminals and by selected customers/partners every year during the winter period. We were some of the first in Denmark to do that. The snow bridges have been installed to make it easy for drivers to remove snow and ice from the top of their truck and trailer, thus minimizing the risk of ice falling on the roads or other cars. The purpose of this initiative is to increase road safety and reduce the chances of traffic accidents.

You can read more here if you want to know more about FREJA's work with CSR.