Leipzig centre to drive Schenker parts sector

DB Schenker Logistics, the logistics division of Deutsche Bahn, is setting up a new logistics centre in Leipzig to supply components to automobile plants in China and South Africa.


Schenker Deutschland will create around 600 new jobs in Leipzig to cope with this order from BMW plants.


"We are fully aware of the enormous responsibility that this new order involves. It is one of the largest logistics projects we have ever acquired,” said Karl-Friedrich Rausch, member of the DB Mobility Logistics board for transportation and logistics.


“Among other things, this success can be attributed to our strategy in the sector of contract logistics. We have already served as a reliable partner for the automotive industry and its suppliers in Germany and other countries for decades.


"This project will enable us to consolidate our leading position in this key market."


The logistics centre in the north of Leipzig will have an area of approximately 63,000 square meters and is scheduled to go into operation by the middle of the year.


Working with an integrated data communication network, the centre will collect around 8,000 different components, which will then be packed and stowed in containers to match delivery requirements. The centre will also give the sheet metal parts protective treatment for ocean transport through different climate zones.


Roughly 50 containers will leave the Leipzig centre every day, most of them to be carried by ship to the South African city of Rosslyn and to Shenyang in China, although some will be transported by rail.


BMW is currently building a new production plant in Shenyang and DB Schenker is already involved in the supply chain for that location.


DB Schenker also handles BMW contracts in other countries, such as spare parts supplies in South Africa.


"We have already been active at our Leipzig location for many years as a provider of logistics services for land transport in Europe, international air and ocean freight, as well as contract logistics for trade and industry," said Hans Rodi, chairman of the board at Schenker Deutschland.


"We also have other business locations in the state of Saxony, in Chemnitz and Dresden. The new logistics centre will double our headcount in the Free State of Saxony to more than 1,200."


The facility is built by Goodman, an integrated property group that owns, develops and manages industrial and business space across Europe, the United Kingdom and the Asia-Pacific region. The group invests in business parks, office parks, industrial estates and warehouse and distribution centres.
(Source:http://www.cargonewsasia.com)