Örebro - Strategic location

Örebro is favoured with a unique location in logistical terms and has emerged as the motor in the region´s rapid development as a Scandinavian logistics hub. In 2010 the trade journal Intelligent Logistik ranked Örebro as Sweden´s third best logistics centre after Greater Gothenburg and Linköping/Norrköping.

Örebro is the demographic centre of Sweden. Within a radius of just 300 kilometres are more than six million people, easily reached thanks to an efficient infrastructure that includes the Mälarbanan and Svealandsbanan rail links, the E18 and E20 European highways and Örebro Airport. Orders placed as late as 15.00 can be delivered to the majority of Scandinavian customers by the next day.

A large number of companies headed by a cluster of famous brands have already made Örebro their logistics hub, fuelling further development in this sphere. Örebro has decided to invest heavily in attracting logistics companies, and the challenge is clear - to exploit the competitive advantages of its unique location to serve not only the market in central Sweden, but those in Norway and Finland as well.

Three hundred companies on board

Having built up northern Europe´s largest third-party warehousing operation in Örebro, DHL is one of the leading companies to invest in the area. In doing so, it has minimised its logistics costs and made Örebro a hub in its global logistics system. Atlas Copco, another logistics-intensive company, has also made the area part of its strategic planning by transferring production and associated global distribution from abroad.

Other companies not normally associated with logistics have also established a logistical presence in Örebro. Naxos Sweden, for example, a leading distributor of classical music, chose Örebro as its operational and distribution centre for Scandinavia. In total the area has now attracted around 300 logistics companies with more than 4,000 employees.

Study programmes at both upper secondary school and university level support the area´s focus on logistics and its logistics networks, as do advanced vocational courses. The foundations for continued strong growth in this field are very good, making Örebro one of the strongest cluster centres in the Stockholm region.

Rail network readily accessible for passengers and goods

Sweden´s most important rail corridor links Örebro with Stockholm to the east, Karlstad and Oslo to the west and Gothenburg to the south. Standard travel time to Stockholm is around two hours, but some departures with fewer stops cover the distance in just 1 hr 37 mins.

Hallsberg, a key component in Örebro´s logistics system, has Sweden´s largest marshalling yard with its large combi-terminal for swap-body road-rail transhipments. A second combi-terminal in Örebro itself creates optimum conditions for swift, simple transportation.

Major roads

The E18 and E20 European highways, and the R50 Swedish trunk route, which links the E4 via Motala with Sundsvall, all pass Örebro. These routes connect Stockholm with Oslo and Gothenburg, and provide traffic from southern Sweden with access to the north of the country.

The E18/E20 intersection is used by 5,000 heavy goods vehicles a day and is Sweden´s busiest intersection, so plans are afoot for a TruckStop nearby. Here heavy goods vehicles and their drivers will be offered every conceivable service and access to a huge range of facilities.

Port of Gothenburg - our “local" port

Daily goods trains from Örebro and Hallsberg mean that Sweden´s only ocean port, the Port of Gothenburg, is no more than three hours away. Thanks to Dry Port Hallsberg - a modern intermodal logistics solution that offers daily rail connections to and from all of Sweden´s ports with rail facilities - goods can be cleared in the Örebro region for onward shipment by sea. Similarly, shipping lines and hauliers can transit goods directly to Dry Port Hallsberg from all around the world.

Dry Port Hallsberg and the combi-terminal have been awarded the Swedish Customs Service´s highest accreditation and can offer general bonded warehousing. They can also accept uncleared goods, process customs declarations, place goods in bonded warehouses and transit goods on to Norway for example. A wide range of services - including strip & stuff, repacking and 3PL - is also available by special arrangement. SCT Transport, another key player in the region, has had its own dedicated railway line between the Skandiahamnen docks in Gothenburg and Örebro since September 2006, with departures five days a week.

Room for expansion

In view of Örebro´s focus on logistics, the local authority has designated certain areas as particularly suitable for this type of enterprise. These include Pilängen, with its proximity to the E18 and E20 European highways, and Törsjö with its easy access to rail links. While both attract companies with large warehousing and distribution centres, Pilängen is also a growth area and offers an additional one million square metres for new logistical operations in western Pilängen, near the E18.

Örebro Airport - a key air freight hub

Örebro Airport, strategically located near the intersection of the E18 and E20 around 12 kilometres west of Örebro, is the leading ad-hoc freight airport in Scandinavia. As Sweden´s fourth largest air freight terminal, the airport can take the very largest cargo planes and sees several scheduled arrivals and departures each day.

Örebro Airport offers experienced and professional freight handling for all types of aircraft as well as truck-to-truck transfers. It is fully equipped and has the expertise to deal with aircraft, trucks, documentation and customs processing, all of which makes Örebro an excellent strategic location for the inward and outward transportation of goods.

The airport is owned by Örebro Läns Flygplats AB, a wholly owned subsidiary of the local public transport authority, Länstrafiken Örebro AB. Charter operations have also expanded. Today Örebro Airport is Sweden´s fourth largest airport for both freight and charter flights.

Criss-crossed by digital highways, too

Örebro also boasts a highly developed digital communication infrastructure: the county currently leads the way in Sweden for broadband expansion. All the high-capacity national networks are represented. Together with extensive regional and local networks, this means that broadband services are available to almost everyone in Örebro.