Dachser building in Germany

LIFELINE FOR LOGISTICS

WAREHOUSING • LOGISTICS LEADER DACHSER IS UNDERTAKING A MAJOR INVESTMENT TO EXPAND CAPACITY AND SERVICES FOR THE GERMAN CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

DACHSER, ONE OF Europe’s leading logistics providers, is investing more than €20m in the expansion of its existing logistics centre in Malsch, near Karlsruhe, Germany. Construction has already begun on the new high-bay storage facility, which covers 21,800 m² and offers approximately 43,000 pallet spaces. The specially equipped facility is also designed to permit the safe storage of chemical products and hazardous materials such as paints, coatings and adhesives. The facility will become operational in the first quarter of 2019 and will offer an industry solution that is tailored to the particular needs of the chemical industry.

The decision to expand the logistics centre came in response to growing demand from companies in the regional chemical industry. “Baden-Württemberg is one of the top five German states for chemical industry revenue,” says Bernd Grossmann, general manager of the Dachser Malsch branch. “As such, there is strong demand here for logistics companies that can serve as a safe, reliable transportation partner while also offering safe storage of chemical products and hazardous materials.” Malsch has developed into a pivotal location for Dachser due to its excellent connections to France, the number one destination for German chemical exports.

RAISING THE BAR The company, highly experienced in dealing with hazardous materials, serves as a reliable partner to the chemicals industry, which naturally requires the highest of safety standards. The new hazardous materials facility will be divided into nine sections separated by firewalls. Each section will have an automatic fire extinguishing system with ceiling sprinklers as well as a shelf sprinkler system. A number of the sections will also have a gas warning system in addition to fire extinguishing systems with foam additives. A reinforced concrete floor will feature special sealing sheets and will be built lower to retain fire-fighting water. Additionally, barriers at the wastewater inflows offer increased groundwater protection.

“Dachser has made multiple investments in contract logistics, creating more than 300,000 new pallet spaces in the past few years,” says Alexander Tonn, managing director, European logistics Germany at Dachser. “This new hazardous materials facility lets us offer a strong network for the chemical industry in south-west Germany, with specially equipped warehouses in Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Überheim and Ulm.”

The company has been operating in Malsch since 2012 and has been a cooperation partner of the German chemical industry association, Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI) since 2009. Dachser says it applies safety and quality standards that go beyond legal requirements when transporting and storing chemical products.

Meanwhile, Dachser has announced plans to replace all of its approximately 6,000 ground conveyors in Europe with vehicles powered by lithium ion batteries. Compared with conventional lead-acid batteries, lithium ion batteries last three times longer and can charge significantly more quickly. “When you factor in the savings in avoided maintenance and damage costs – since the batteries no longer have to be taken out of the vehicle every day for charging – then having a lithium ion fleet has already paid for itself,” says André Bilz, team leader, fleet management terminal equipment at Dachser. By 2022, Dachser wants to convert all its road logistics locations in Europe to this new technology, which will prove to be momentous from a sustainability and costsaving point of view. HCB www.dachser.com