H Essers develops rail hub

INTO THE VALLEY

TRANSPORT • H ESSERS HAS STRENGTHENED ITS RAILPORT IN GENK AND HAS AMBITIOUS PLANS TO FORM A HUB FOR ROAD, WATER AND RAIL FREIGHT IN THE LIMBURG REGION

EFFICIENT RAIL CONNECTIVITY TO THE REST OF EUROPE H ESSERS HAS announced ambitious aspirations to expand and develop its sites in Genk, Belgium. H Essers, a leading European logistics and transport company for chemicals, pharmaceuticals, high-value and healthcare goods, is seeking to form a nucleus for road, water and rail freight in an area it has dubbed the H Essers Valley. The planned changes are due to be completed in several phases and secure H Essers’ place in Limburg for the foreseeable future.

Following the opening of the first direct rail service between Genk and Trieste, established recently in cooperation with Lineas (HCB March 2019, page 42), H Essers is now planning to acquire the Euro Terminal Genk (ETG) rail terminal from Lineas and LRM. The facility, located close to H Essers’ head office, will be renamed Essers Railport Genk.

Work will be undertaken to improve the facility, especially in the area of security, to provide a suitable rail transport hub for H Essers’ strategic markets.

“It is a perfect supplement to our synchromodal network,” says Gert Bervoets, H Essers’ CEO. “In the future, we will further develop our rail connections to Antwerp, Ghent and Zeebrugge in cooperation with Lineas. In this way we will optimise our connection with the port cities.”

H Essers has been working closely with Lineas on its Belgium-Romania train connection for several years, which has strengthened the business ties between the two firms. In Belgium, H Essers and Lineas will continue to focus on the progress of the Genk-Antwerp and AntwerpGhent-Zeebrugge rail lines. This continued project means transport to and from the port cities is smooth and sustainable. These works have highlighted Genk as a sustainable link between the intercontinental flows via seaports and Europe as a whole.

CHANGING PLACES In 2020, H Essers’ European cross dock will be moved from Transportlaan to the former Hörmann site along Woudstraat. The benefit of this change will be that it will allow the pharmaceutical warehousing units on Transportlaan to be expanded and improved to better suit the growing demands of clients. Furthermore, the expansions across warehousing, transport and IT systems means that plenty of new job opportunities are being created. There is a particular focus on the continuation of developing in-house IT systems providing tailored solutions for customers and helping to drive job growth.

H Essers originally applied for permission to expand the Transportlaan site in 2015 but this was denied by the Council of State. Subsequently, H Essers initiated ‘Plan B’ involving the previous Hörmann sites, which will be renovated. However, there are concerns about environmental impacts.

“As CEO of H Essers, I know and understand the sensitivity of expanding at a location where trees are present, which is why I want to communicate this expansion at the Hörmann site very transparently,” says Bervoets. “The site is intended for industry, which means that we can use it for industrial activities. Moreover, it has already been partly developed. The trees will be removed to prepare the sites for use. We will compensate this by creating a larger and valuable nature area in the vicinity. In consultation with the Belgian Nature and Forest Agency, this area will be in Oudsbergen.”

In 2018, H Essers constructed the H Essers Dry Port Genk along the Albert Canal on the former Ford site. The first development on the site, a 32,000-m2 storage unit for chemical goods, is already operational. The head office is also being relocated to a new building on the current site on Transportlaan, which is planned to be open and fully operational in 2020. This new head office to become the decision-making centre for ongoing international expansion.

“In order to respond to the market, it is crucial to continue to grow, innovate and invest,” says Bervoets. “We are far past the point of being just a road haulier, but our master plan will only increase our leadership position as a synchromodal logistics service provider. With this plan, H Essers also gives new impulses to the Flemish logistics sector.”

The H Essers Valley involves a total investment of €121.2m. The new investments of €26.2m are in addition to the previously announced €80m for Dry Port Genk and €15m for the new head office. HCB www.essers.com