Redwood Turns Up the Heat: Powers Cost and Service Enhancements for Harbison-Walker International

– Redwood’s modern 4PL approach drives significant improvements in logistics execution and operations for HWI’s refractory solutions – 

CHICAGO, IL – November 19, 2024 –  Redwood Logistics (Redwood), one of North America’s fastest growing fourth party logistics (4PL) providers, today announced the success of its partnership with Harbison-Walker International (HWI), the largest producer of refractory products in North America. By implementing advanced transportation management solutions and providing logistics expertise, Redwood has enabled HWI to achieve notable cost and service improvements. 

With over 150 years of experience, HWI is a key supplier of refractory materials such as bricks, monolithics, and high-temperature insulation products used in steelmaking and other industries that operate in extreme environments. Shipping over 130 million pounds of products annually from 22 distribution centers across North America, HWI needed a streamlined logistics approach to maintain its high customer service standards and ensure on-time deliveries, often to remote locations. 

“We were seeking a long-term partner who could evolve alongside us, offering a comprehensive suite of transportation management solutions while minimizing our internal technology investment,” said Lauren Cline, Logistics Specialists II at Harbison-Walker International. “Redwood has enabled us to focus on what we do best—innovating refractory products—while ensuring cost-effective logistics management that maximizes service and financial performance.” 

HWI faced the challenge of managing its complex logistics operations, which involved integrating third-party logistics (3PL) data, optimizing parcel shipping, and improving spot freight procurement. HWI aimed to continue focusing on its core strength—providing innovative refractory solutions—while ensuring its logistics were managed efficiently without the need for additional internal resources. 

Redwood’s modern 4PL strategy of orchestrating supply chain technology and logistics execution, emerged as the ideal partner for HWI. Redwood implemented Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) to provide HWI with a fully integrated transportation management system (TMS). This system was seamlessly connected to other supply chain solutions and systems, via an easy integration through RedwoodConnect, Redwood’s proprietary supply chain integration platform designed to streamline the most complex integration cases. 

To further enhance HWI’s freight procurement process, Redwood also provided brokerage services, optimizing spot freight for both cost efficiency and service quality.  

"By orchestrating supply chain technology and logistics execution through a modern 4PL strategy, Redwood has truly turned up the heat for HWI, streamlining operations and driving enhanced efficiency,” added Eric Rempel, Chief Innovation Officer at Redwood. “We helped HWI achieve significant efficiencies by implementing our 4PL services, transforming their processes for better results. Our long-standing relationship with Oracle and open, integration platform meant a quick return on investment for HWI." 

By collaborating with Redwood for both technology solutions and managed logistics services, HWI was able to launch its new transportation management solutions on an accelerated timeline, achieving immediate value. The partnership reduced HWI's reliance on internal IT resources, allowing the company to capitalize on Redwood's expertise while leveraging advanced supply chain technology. 

Looking ahead, HWI is set to implement Redwood Parcel Cloud, Redwood’s proprietary multi-carrier platform that offers cloud-based rating, labeling, and manifest capabilities, providing further integration with existing systems. 

To learn more about how HWI achieved these results with Redwood’s support, visit here. 

About Redwood 

Redwood Logistics, a leading logistics platform company and modern 4PL headquartered in Chicago, has provided solutions for moving and managing freight for more than 21 years. The company’s diverse portfolio includes digital freight brokerage and flexible freight management all wrapped into a revolutionary logistics and technology strategy, a modern 4PL. Redwood’s 4PL strategy utilizes an open platform for digital logistics that empowers shippers to seamlessly mix-and-match partners, technologies and solutions into their own unique digital supply chain fingerprint. Redwood connects a wide range of customers to the power of supply chain management, technology and the industry’s brightest minds. For more information, visit www.redwoodlogistics.com. 

About Harbison-Walker International 

HWI is the largest supplier of refractory products and services in the United States, with a history that spans more than 150 years. It is part of Calderys and is the brand for the Americas region of the Group. 

HWI counts numerous manufacturing sites and strategically placed distribution centers in the Americas, as well as the largest refractory industry research facility in North America. Serving virtually every major industry that requires refractory solutions to enhance production and protect assets, HWI is consistently recognized for its talented experts, industry firsts, and intensely driven excellence. For more information, visit thinkHWI.com

Media Contact
Tyler Thornton 
LeadCoverage 
tyler@leadcoverage.com