Chemistry: Hammar and Rail Transport
The Estonian company Ingle is the largest purchaser and supplier of chemical products to plants in the Baltic region, as well as Poland. It has offices in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, as well as close partners in Finland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Ukraine. With 30 years in the industry, it is a major actor that is expanding dynamically and continually establishing relations with new factories throughout the world.
When handling chemical products, it has to be fast, so speed is a priority for deliveries. "As we deliver to large plants, it must be done very rapidly as every production stoppage entails significant risks. We always have an extra stock of products and can undertake almost all deliveries quickly and independently," says Vladimir Svivalnev at Ingle.
Ingle has its own terminal in the port in Muuga in Estonia, where it receives both ordinary- and tank containers via the sea route, loads them on railway wagons and transports them to Ingle’s terminal. In 2022, they purchased a Hammar 117 telescopic sideloader to move the containers on to lorries or to unload the freight at Ingle’s warehouse. The sideloader is also used to unload goods that are bound for Ingle’s other warehouse in Rapla.
Ingle’s' approximately 250x80 metre terminal in Muuga has offices, warehouse and storage for containers etc. There is also a steam generator that can heat up tank containers with, for example, caustic soda or acetic acid.
"The infrastructure is designed to enable us to heat up any tank container at our terminal very quickly if needed," Vladimir says. 
The terminal is constructed taking into account Hammar's sideloader, with a reinforced concrete surface beside the rail tracks and concrete slabs between rails to provide even more support for the sideloader. This enables the sideloader to be positioned close to the railway wagons when the containers are lifted. "We employ an effective procedure for the operation and it takes a maximum of 10-15 minutes." 
Reinforced asphalt and concrete has also been used in the container store. Having used its Hammar 117 for one year, Ingle is now planning to purchase another sideloader from Hammar for the plant in Lithuania. "We are extremely satisfied with the quality of our sideloader from Hammar, we haven't encountered any problems and have excellent communication with the headquarters. We can have a consultation with Hammar's specialists quickly via WhatsApp and the team is very friendly and customer-oriented," Vladimir says.
How did it come about that you specifically chose a sideloader to handle your freight instead of another solution?
"Our site is quite big, but relatively narrow, which means that it isn't optimal to use equipment such as a reachstacker as there is quite simply not enough space. Sideloaders can also be used for transport. Speed and versatility are absolutely crucial for us – and the sideloader is our saviour! 
