Suddenly Stena Line is without any passengers. Hotels and restaurants are without guests. All our drilling contracts were cancelled. We work from home instead of being at our working sites. Many industries being clients or suppliers close down completely or partially.

Catastrophes have happened before and will come back both in old and new shapes.

In modern times Europe has been hit by war creating destruction, diseases and starvation. Crisis in supply chains during Korean war and Middle East Oil crisis took their victims. Starvation, political uproars and crises  have contributed to a world with a structure difficult to maneuver in. Financial crises seem to repeat themselves and will continue to do so.

STENA COURAGEOUS IS OUR HISTORY

In all this Stena has managed to survive and grow for eighty years. Face the truth, acknowledge the truth, communicate and share the truth, find solutions or paths to solutions and act thereupon paired with endurance are the strengths of Stena Culture. With our relationship care for our residential tenants we are also contributing to an inclusive society. We are optimists, believing a good piece of work will be appreciated as long as it fills a function to our client. Maybe we shall never be properly compensated, but at least we trust that cultivating good solutions with our clients will make it possible for us to earn our daily bread. By being curious we shall also keep on creating astounding services and products.

STENA COURAGEOUS IS OUR FUTURE

For many companies surviving 2020 and 2021 is not a given. Shrinking our costume to the minimum for a continuous operation comes first. Defining lean and performing adequate services to our customers must be there all the time. Safeguarding enough cash to take us through a crisis of this magnitude is not easy, but among other things thanks to governmental support with loans, we feel confident we will survive. Keeping on developing is a must. Otherwise we shall not have anything to live from once this crisis is over. For 2021 we are going to have better functioning companies, served by less in numbers and served by motivated people.

STENA COURAGEOUS EMBRACES TRANSFORMATION

Digital transformation is the buzzword for what is going on in modern society today and in the future. Our companies are based on old business ideas rendering relevant services today  and in the future. The forms will change though. We need to understand the mega trends. We also need to keep on fostering our culture to be supportive for the new tasks. Keep on being willing and capable to change. We need help by also attracting and retaining required competences.

IT IS RISKY TO LIVE

Year 2020 has been a difficult year. Thanks to everyone for really walking the extra mile and for doing a great job. Sometimes under very difficult circumstances.

Looking forward we are guided by two things:   

• Care in everything we do
• Ready for anything

It is risky to live but less so with attitudes such as:

• Safety first and caring
• Life is and will remain good
• Be courageous

Wishing you a Good Christmas with your families and people you love and let us hope for a better year in 2021.

Dan Sten Olsson

Göteborg December 2020

We have adapted to the new normal and I cannot help but feel a sense of unreality. It feels strange to live under the restrictions we have been forced to take during these past several months.

It was almost exactly 100 years since we last had such a serious pandemic, when the Spanish flu raged. It was also a very severe flu and most of the deaths were among young adults in good health. As far as we know, no other infectious disease has claimed as many lives in such short a time as the Spanish flu.

Covid-19 can infect anyone, and we have not yet determined where this all will end. We can only hope that it ends well and that it will end soon.

I hope you can all have the opportunity to spend time with your loved ones and find new ways of doing things together. Outdoor activities and getting out into nature are a few things we can still enjoy. In Sweden, the dark part of the year is now upon us. When we light candles that shine so beautifully from the windows. The light is welcoming and spreads comfort and joy in these troubled times.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Linda Mickelson

These are difficult times. Between the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home, and the general uncertainty in the world, most of us have experienced moments of unsteadiness while navigating in 2020. This is also a time to reflect on our own behaviour in our lives and at work.

“At Stena, showing respect and care is key to our culture,” explains Stena’s Head of Corporate Governance, Caroline Jakobsson.

As Dan Sten Olsson, CEO of Stena AB, emphasises in The White Book, the Stena spirit is characterised by the golden rule: we should do for others what we expect from them, while our capacity and willingness to care is what unites us in everything we do.

“Our governing documents are there to keep these values top of mind and make sure they are present in all our activities and operations,” she adds.

In early 2020, all Stena AB’s group policies were updated to reflect the present-day reality and the world in which the company currently operates. As the framework that provides guidance to all Stena employees, it is more important than ever for these documents to be up to date in these turbulent times.

Stena’s governing documents and policies are designed to help its employees make decisions and achieve the agreed objectives, while complying with all regulatory requirements. The policies are the guiding principles that support Stena employees in their daily work, reflecting what the company stands for and providing insights into the business. Different areas have different policies – from Information Security to Health Safety and Environment, Tax, and so on.

Additionally, there are three key governing documents within Stena: The White Book describes Stena’s business philosophy and its main purpose is to provide guidelines for how to behave when doing business. The Code of Conduct describes how employees should act and behave with each other, and the rules and responsibilities that exist within the Stena AB Group, while the Code of Governance describes the governing rules and responsibilities for all companies in the Stena AB Group.

“Our governing documents should make business easier and offer a sense of certainty in how to act and make decisions. They not only protect the company and the assets, but also you as an employee,” continues Caroline Jakobsson.

This winter, all Stena employees are being asked to complete a series of mandatory nano training sessions by email. The weekly sessions provide awareness and understanding of the governing documents and policies. Each session takes no more than five minutes to complete.

The training emails also include relevant links to the Intranet, for anyone wishing to engage further with a specific topic, review the company policies, or re-visit the e-learning on Stena’s Code of Conduct, which all Stena employees are required to complete.

“The nano trainings won’t teach you the content of every policy, but what they hopefully will do is to provide important awareness and insights – including where to look for more information. It’s the responsibility of each and every one of us to be aware of our policies and act accordingly,” concludes Caroline Jakobsson.

The Stena Prosperous will initially be utilised by Stena Bulk within their traded pool of ships for a period of two to three years. The vessel will therefore be the first methanol dual-fuel powered ship traded on the chemicals/CPP market by a conventional shipowner without an active contract to a methanol producer. After this initial period, the Stena Prosperous will then enter into a long-term time charter with Proman Shipping.

Erik Hånell, President and CEO of Stena Bulk said:

“At Stena Bulk we are very satisfied with the development of our Joint Venture with Proman Shipping, adding one more vessel into our joint venture. We see the strength in our joint commitment leading to new and exciting opportunities for us. It is in Stena Bulk’s objectives to contribute to making the shipping industry more sustainable. This joint venture is taking us in that direction with a partner whom we share many values that we believe will develop the shipping industry with new features driving improved performance and efficiency”.

The Bac Lieu LNG to Power project is the largest Foreign Direct Investment project in Vietnam in 2020 and will see the creation of a 3200 MW Power Plant scheduled to feed into the country’s national power grid by 2024.

The project – led by Delta Offshore Energy – will employ Stena Power & LNG Solutions’ Jettyless Floating Terminal (JFT) and Self-installing Regas Platform (SRP) technologies.

Svein Hellesmark, Chief Technology Officer, Stena Power & LNG Solutions, said: “We are honored to play a key part in this important and large-scale energy infrastructure project in Vietnam. This award demonstrates the trust Delta Offshore Energy (DOE), and its partners have in our Jettyless LNG technology.

“We have been cooperating closely with DOE on this groundbreaking project for more than 2 years which has been an extraordinarily interesting and inspiring journey.

Göran Hermansson, Chairman, Stena Power & LNG Solutions added: “We look forward to a successful project completion. At Stena we offer innovative solutions across the LNG value chain. Our Jettyless LNG technology is complemented by Stena’s considerable LNG competence and experience owning and operating LNG carriers, new-building project support, ship management and marine engineering.”

Stena Power & LNG Solutions is working closely with sister Northern Marine subsidiary Tritec Marine which has comprehensive marine engineering competence and experience.

George Mermiris, General Manager, Tritec Marine, said: “We are very pleased to play a significant role in this special but challenging project by ensuring deployment of the technology is to the highest quality engineering standard, meeting the expectations of both Delta Offshore Energy and Stena.”

Bobby Quintos, Managing Director – Engineering, Delta Offshore Energy added: “The metocean and tidal conditions in Bac Lieu are very challenging from a traditional FSRU* deployment perspective, so we had to collaborate with Stena to think of ‘out of the box solutions’ in order to make this work, thus the development of the Jettyless solution for our project. 

“The additional benefits of a lower CAPEX and modular design also fits nicely to the DOE model of innovation and efficiency in our LNG to Power Solutions.  We are very pleased to work with Stena to usher in the next technological evolution in offshore LNG re-gas terminals.”

The project was presented at the Indo Pacific Business Forum in October, where Stena Power & LNG Solutions and other strategic partners were virtually introduced to senior representation of both Vietnam and US Governments.

Stena Power & LNG Solutions’ Jettyless technology is covered under a US Patent granted by the United States Patent Authorities in 2018.

* FSRU Floating Storage Regasification Unit is a floating facility for LNG and to convert LNG to natural gas.

“We have made a sustainable change for the future and also see it as a tremendous advantage to be at the center of this major shipping hub that Copenhagen and Denmark are, with customers, partners, competitors and suppliers,” says Ola Helgesson who commutes weekly to the office from his home in Gothenburg.

Sofia Hjälmdahl has been employed by Concordia Maritime for one year and by the Stena Group for the previous ten years.  In January, she moved with her husband to Copenhagen. “It’s a nice city to live in and I’m really happy here. Of course, nothing has been as usual this year, but it’s been that way for everyone. In Copenhagen, you have to wear a mask in public places, and all restaurants close at 22:00. But we’re grateful that we were able to continue working from the office under safe forms, due it being so airy and with open spaces.”

On Tuborg Boulevard in Hellerup, several Stena companies are gathered and together there are just over 30 people at the office, which opened in January 2018.  There are representatives here from Stena Bulk, Stena Rederi A/S, Stena RoRo and Stena Line. “Are closest collaboration is with Stena Bulk, but it is also nice that so many Stena companies are represented here and to share our working days with colleagues from the entire group,” says Ola, and Sofia agrees.

Get an insight into what Malin Lilton’s work week as MD of Ballingslöv Gothenburg City looks like.

MONDAY

On Mondays, I’m always first to work. At this time of the year, I usually light a few candles because of the cozy atmosphere it creates. I have a little routine where I hang up my coat but without switching on the main lights. It’s nice with the subdued night lighting. I go through the warehouse and make a quick check that everything looks good and then into the showroom and make sure our catalog racks are filled and in the right place, that everything looks good overall and continue into our office landscape. That’s when I turn on the lights.

At nine, the first sales reps arrive, those responsible for the reception area and the showroom, and we usually go through anything special we may need to take into account during the day. The rest of the sales staff sit in our office landscape inside the shop and work with customer drawings.

My job includes being an operational CEO, which means that I am involved in or responsible for many of the company’s work areas, and Mondays mostly consist of reviewing and updating sales statistics, going over and updating liquidity reports, checking invoicing and order placement. But if there are a lot of customers in the shop, I also help out in the showroom.

TUESDAY

A small part of the day, but all so important, is that we get a direct delivery from Ballingslöv factory. I receive the delivery and at the same time take the opportunity to chat a little with the drivers.

I also make a compilation of all our upcoming deliveries and deliveries for the coming week, which I communicate to the transport manager in Ballingslöv and to our logistics coordinator at the company we work with here in Gothenburg. Some customers want help with carrying in their kitchens and others want to take care of that themselves. It’s then important that this is planned and communicated in advance, even before loading from Ballingslöv. Fortunately, I have extensive experience from the transport industry in which I worked for many years.

The 600-SQM showroom and the construction of new environments is my responsibility. I make sure that the showroom is updated with our own products, but also that we show the latest white goods, etc.

WEDNESDAY

It’s time for the weekly meeting and today I have invited one of our suppliers to present their latest products. We have many partners such as manufacturers of sinks, mixers and fans, as well as white goods such as ovens, stovetops and microwaves.

It’s a lot for a sales rep to learn and stay up to date on. Should you choose a carbon filter fan or exhaust air fan and what works in a house or apartment?  Is it okay with the tenant-owner association, what do the laws and regulations say, do you need an external motor, can you put the ceiling-integrated fan exactly where you want, and so on. Then we have our own products and our carpentry, and there we work with our own training/run-throughs because each customer is unique and all houses and apartments are different.

THURSDAY

More economics. Check and go over the weekly invoicing, review any repair, conversion, extension deductions as well as credit information. We have good collaboration with another company in the Sphere, Captum, that enables us to offer very advantageous payment solutions to our customers.

Otherwise, I usually try to spend a good part of the day working with our marketing and social media. Ballingslöv AB creates some of our materials that we can provide to the media when we have campaigns and the like. This is so that we can be as homogeneous as possible. With this, it’s up to each shop to decide how much they want to work with other social media, and I work quite a bit with preparing my own articles.

FRIDAY

On Fridays, I try to keep my schedule open so that I can deal with things that have been dragging out during the week. This Friday, like many others, I’m baking cookies. I want our customers to get homemade cookies when they sit in meetings with our salespeople. When customers come in and see that I am baking, they usually ask, “do you really bake in the kitchen?” Then I usually joke and say that you have to try the products you sell, and that is partly true!

Welcome – if nothing else for a freshly baked cookie – and a look around in our nice showroom.

FACTS BALLINGSLÖV

Ballingslöv AB is a part of Ballingslöv International AB Group. Ballingslöv International AB is a supplier of kitchen, bathroom and storage systems and is represented in large parts of Europe. Ballingslöv International is wholly owned by Stena Adactum AB.

COVID-19

Ballingslöv always offers video-meetings with their clients and this solution has become a popular way to “visit” the store during the pandemic. www.ballingslov.se

It has been a tough year in global shipping. A slump in the market, combined with over-
capacity in many sectors, has negatively impacted the industry worldwide. In this marketplace, flexibility and a can-do attitude can be the key to success – as recently proven by Stena RoRo and NMT International Shipping.

In September, Dutch logistics company NMT International Shipping encountered a problem. With two shipments of cars, trucks and construction equipment ready to set sail to Africa, its regular carrier suddenly cancelled a service due to COVID-19, leaving NMT with a surplus of cargo but no space on which to ship it.

“I knew Stena RoRo had a vessel – Stena Foreteller – that was perfect for our cargo,” says NMT President Frits Dix. “Since NMT is a majority-owned Stena Logistics company, I also knew our sister company Stena RoRo had decided to lay up the vessel in Uddevalla due to a lack of market demand.”

For Stena RoRo, NMT’s capacity challenge became an opportunity to send Stena Foreteller back out to sea.

Stena RoRo’s Managing Director Per Westling says he saw an opportunity to help NMT fulfill its commitments, while also getting a laid up vessel into operation and breaking into a new market, at a challenging time for the RoRo business.

“In the short term, sending the ship out to sea was less costly than having her laid up and, more long term, we hoped this might lead to a profitable business opportunity in the future,” he admits.

Stena Foreteller left Antwerp on 13 October, calling at the ports of Dakar, Senegal, and Conakry, Guinea, before returning to Antwerp for a second round trip in November.

EXTREMELY SATISFIED WITH THE OUTCOME

“The service from Stena RoRo has been perfect! It’s been clear to us since day one that this is a company that cares about its customers,” he says, adding that this became apparent when Stena Foreteller arrived at Conakry – a port that is notoriously over crowded, where ships are often forced to wait days for a port slot, says Frits Dix.

“The captain of Stena Foreteller carried out an extremely complex manoeuvre, known as Mediterranean mooring, which involves backing the stern up to the quay instead of pulling up alongside it,” he continues.

The 195.3-metre long and 26.8-metre wide Stena Foreteller was able to use a slot that measured only 30 metres, instead of waiting for a 200-metre space on the quay, thereby avoiding a delay of three or four days.

“For a logistics provider, it’s invaluable to have a skilful, flexible shipping partner that will support us and do its best for us and our customers,” adds Frits Dix.

Lance Trengereid, Deputy Head of Stena Logistics, believes this proves how a flexible approach can turn into a win-win solution:

“This is a great example of our shipping and logistics businesses working together to find a mutually beneficial solution,” he says. “In this case, Stena RoRo’s quick response enabled it to get a vessel back out to sea, whilst helping its sister company solve a pressing capacity problem. That’s what I call teamwork!”

JO GILLAN, TRAINING AND EVENTS ANALYST, CLYDE MARINE TRAINING

How do you plan your days working from home?

I started practicing meditation around 2 years ago and built this into my daily life, but this was not consistent. Since working from home I do 20 minutes of meditation prior to picking up my mobile. I then make sure I go for a walk on my lunch break, which is important for my physical wellbeing but even more so, for my mental wellbeing.

Has the pandemic affected your training; if so, how did you change it?

I enjoy kickboxing and before lockdown I was going to the gym twice a week, particularly focusing on strength and endurance. Here in Scotland we have been in and out of lockdowns which means often we are unable to meet other people, so it has been difficult to maintain regular training sessions with my instructor. I was training to go into competition but since the most recent lockdown, my private lessons have now stopped.

In April 2021 I plan to go to Nepal with 20 friends to do a 10-day trek around the Himalayas, so I have also been training for that. During lockdown I have not been
allowed to travel beyond our local region, so I cannot hike in the mountains and train for the altitude we will endure in Nepal. Instead

I have trained within the house to YouTube fitness videos and maintained solo kickboxing practice. I go occasional runs to maintain my stamina.

I find it highly important to stay as active as possible, especially working from home.

Are you doing anything extra during your workday?

I go for a 20 minute walk during my lunchtime and make sure to listen to uplifting music, I try to run at least twice a week but my training is more suited towards building muscle so cardio has to be limited for my specific needs.

MIKAEL ABRAHAMSSON, CONVERSION & PROJECT MANAGER, STENA RORO

What’s it like to work from home?

I’ve been working partly from home since April. Every other day at home and every other in the office, and since November, completely from home. It is natural that you miss your colleagues, face-to-face meetings and the social part that you cannot get in the same way through digital meetings, but one advantage is that I actually have more time. Thanks to reduced travel time to and from work, I save about an hour and a half that I now use to exercise and take walks.

I think working from home works well. There are so many different IT solutions that make it easy to communicate and transfer information. In the beginning, it might not have been all that easy with the technology, but with patience and a little will, I think it works. For example, we are testing a GoPro solution for streaming data live from the site office in Turkey during the conversion of the Stena Lagan.

I have two children, 17 and 19 years old, who have had remote learning and also been at home at times, and then I’ve had the opportunity to see them a little more often and have had more time to help with homework and questions before tests. I think it’s important to try to maintain a structure and discipline in how I work, it’s otherwise easy for work and leisure to merge.

Has the pandemic affected your exercising and if so, in what way?

I normally run three times a week and go to the gym or a group session. But because of the pandemic there are no visits to the gym these. I instead exercise at home with my body supplying the weight and with rubber-training bands, which I can recommend for strengthening the shoulders and back. At lunch I take a run or a walk with the dog.

What does your exercise give you in terms of focus and job performance?

Exercising makes me feel good and I notice that I can keep my focus all day long. It actually happens quite often that I come up with solutions to different problems during my runs and that I plan and structure both work and private life. I think it’s important to prioritize exercise because it gives back so much that is positive.

When Stena Line established its Belfast operation on 12th November 1995, it operated just three ferries to one port in Scotland.  Today, that service has significantly expanded to include seven vessels operating year-round services to Cairnryan, Birkenhead (Liverpool) and Heysham with a mix of freight and leisure traffic.

Throughout the 25 years, Stena Line have invested significantly in its Belfast operations and the Belfast Harbour hub is currently Stena Line’s largest port operation.

Paul Grant, Stena Line Trade Director on the Irish Sea said: “The last 25 years have been quite a journey for us. Each year we have managed to grow and develop our business which vindicates our initial decision to move our ferry operations to Belfast all those years ago. I have had the privilege to be with the company for all of those years and witness the many transformations that have helped to create the successful business model we have established today.”

While there have been numerous milestones along the way, Paul Grant summarizes his standout moments with:

“I really feel blessed to have all these wonderful moments to choose from, but my standout moments are the introduction of the HSS Stena Voyager in 1996, the most advanced ferry in the world at that time; the opening of our new Belfast VT4 Terminal in 2008;  the opening of our new purpose built Loch Ryan Port (Cairnryan) with the accompanying introduction of the state of the art Superfast VII and VIII vessels in 2011. That project itself was fantastic, from the conversion of the vessel and creation of a brand new travel product to the amazing teamwork when we opened a new port and started operating two ships on the same day”, says Paul Grant. 

Joe O’Neill, Chief Executive of Belfast Harbour, said: “Stena Line has been a hugely important part of Belfast Harbour’s story for the last 25 years. This special anniversary is an opportunity to celebrate the milestone achievements that have taken place since the arrival of Stena Line’s first vessel in Belfast in 1995. Our close working partnership has been evident since day one and Belfast Harbour’s programme of significant investment in port facilities during the period has helped to facilitate Stena Line’s remarkable growth story in Belfast.

“We are extremely proud of the quality of offering that Stena Line and Belfast Harbour have created over the past 25 years. Today we are the largest hub in Stena Line’s European network and as we celebrate the strong foundations laid by Stena Line’s first 25 years in the city, we look forward to the next chapter of continued partnership working.”

Stena Line’s newest addition to its Irish Sea fleet, Stena Edda started operating on the Belfast – Birkenhead (Liverpool) route in March 2020 and in the beginning of 2021 Stena Embla will join sister ship Stena Edda on the route, providing a combined increase in freight tonnage on the Belfast to Liverpool route of 20 per cent, and each ship also has the space to carry 120 cars and 1,000 passengers.

Stena Embla was successfully delivered to Stena Line at the CMI Jinling Weihai Shipyard in China on 19th November and is currently sailing back to Europe.

“Initially, there was a complete stop in the housing market during the spring, and it felt like everything was put on hold,” says Eva-Lotta Vinskär, Marketing and Sales Manager at Stena Bygg, which is Stena Property’s company for new construction. “Towards the summer, activity sharply increased. Many people expected reduced demand and falling prices, but this did not happen. For those who have jobs and feel secure with their employment, many have begun looking around for a new home, which has increased demand in the market and contributed to higher prices. Many are spending more time at home and experiencing new needs that they haven’t had before.”

MAJOR INTEREST IN HOUSING IN A NEW DISTRICT OUTSIDE STOCKHOLM

Vega is a new residential area located about 20 kilometers from central Stockholm. It has recently received a commuter train station, making it easier to travel to the city. There are plans for 3,500 new homes in the area, and Stena Property is expected to build almost 1,500 of them, both rental apartments and condos. It is mainly multi-family homes are being built, but also row houses.

“During the year, we signed binding agreements for all twenty row houses in the Sommartriangeln block in Vega, and after the start of sales, all twenty-four row houses in Vintertriangeln were also sold,” says Eva-Lotta Vinskär. “In September, sales also started for one of our condo buildings with forty-one units. During the first month, binding agreements were signed for more than half of the units.”

Eva-Lotta Vinskär sees that the preparatory work to identify the right target group has contributed to the strong sales.

“We were able to identify the wishes of the target group early on and what they could afford to pay. Consequently, we’ve been able to build the homes with the qualities that buyers want and at a price they are willing to pay. In Vega, we have well-planned homes, in a nice location and with good opportunities for commuting. In summary, things have gone well both in Stockholm and Gothenburg. We’ve sold all the condos in the projects we started earlier, and at the same time sold very well in most of our new projects.”

CORONA PANDEMIC LED TO NEW WAYS OF MEETING HOMEBUYERS

When people could no longer meet as before, Stena Property and Stena Bygg were quick to make changes. Among other things, digital showings were arranged – both for individuals and larger groups.

“We can, for example, have 100 people join in and listen and watch a showing. In this way, we have actually managed to attract new customers who otherwise would not have come to physical showings. And when we have had showings on site, we have tried to have them outdoors, or in larger rooms. We were also quick to convert the entire contract process to e-signing, which has been appreciated by our customers. It saves time and we avoid risks of spreading the virus. We now have new ways to meet our customers, and we will continue to use several of them in the future as well.”

The project started shortly after last year’s Circular Initiative when the COO of Electrolux promised that a vacuum cleaner made of 100% recycled material would be presented at the next event. The promise was held, and the vision became a reality. Electrolux and Stena Recycling’s material and design experts have worked hard during the year to realize the idea.

So far, it is a prototype in a limited edition, but the team has shown that it is possible to achieve fully functional products from recycled materials. It is a milestone on the road to circular products.

The project group has also identified how the vacuum cleaner can be made recyclable by avoiding the use of different types of plastic. The next step will be to look at what more can be achieved in the design phase through design for recycling.

“We at Electrolux have a strong commitment to reduce our climate impact by 2030 and here circularity is a key factor,” says Jonas Samuelson, President and CEO of Electrolux. “The partnership with Stena Recycling is one of the important initiatives we’ve entered. We’re advancing both our own capabilities and those of the industry, through knowledge sharing and innovation.”

The materials and parts come directly from Stena Recycling’s advanced recycling facility, Stena Nordic Recycling Center in Halmstad.

The recycled plastic is of very high quality. It has also been shown that very many parts that are taken from discarded electrical appliances are still serviceable. Of all the vacuum cleaner motors tested in the project, the majority had retained 80 percent of their useful service lives. Cord reels and indicators for the vacuum cleaner bag are examples of other parts that can often be reused. 

The project team includes sustainability experts, engineers and product designers. Both the production of new parts from recycled plastic and the assembly of the entire vacuum cleaner were carried out in Sweden.

The plan now is to test the model in everyday use. In this way, we can optimize function and service life. It has already undergone the same lab tests as mass-produced vacuum cleaners, which has provided important insights.

From Stena Recycling’s side, the project is being led by Louise Eriksson, a member of the newly started organization Stena Circular Consulting – a department at Stena Recycling that assists the company’s customers in their transitions to the circular economy.

“It is exactly this type project that challenges us in further advancing our positions,” says Mattias Nilsson, Sales and Marketing Manager, Stena Recycling, who is responsible for starting up the new department.

The HaloSep technology has tremendous potential in reducing the environmental and climate footprint of incinerators worldwide. The technology has already attracted interest in several parts of the world, and this is not expected to decrease as the demonstration plant is started and delivers results. At the same time, the plant will demonstrate new possibilities for the use of residual products by, for example, using the purified fly ash in construction materials.

Stena Metall has started a new company, HaloSep AB, which has been tasked with commer-cializing and selling the solution on the global market.

“We have no doubt at all that we will be delivering many plants like the one at Vestforbrænding around the world for many years to come,” said Staffan Svensson, president of HaloSep AB in his inaugural speech.

Among the other speakers at the digital inauguration were Dan Sten Olsson, Stena’s owner; Henrik Grand Petersen, president of Stena Recycling Denmark; and HaloSep developer Erik Rasmussen, Research and Development, Stena Metall.

The first plant has been built with the support of EU’s LIFE Programme.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the views of the author only. The Agency/European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.