Imperial adds to warehouse capacity

THE SAXON HOARD

WAREHOUSING • IMPERIAL LOGISTICS IS MEETING THE GROWING NEED FOR CHEMICALS STORAGE WITH A STATE-OF-THE-ART NEW FACILITY IN NORTHERN GERMANY

IMPERIAL LOGISTICS HAS opened a new dangerous goods warehouse near Osnabrück, in northern Germany. Development of the facility followed a study of regional demand for dangerous goods storage, triggered by the specific needs of one of its major customers and strong underlying demand growth. The 12,500-m² facility can accommodate 20,000 pallets of chemicals and is designed to handle all classes of dangerous goods except radioactives and explosives.

Imperial Logistics says it is now the leading specialist in the storage and warehousing of dangerous goods in Germany, with more than 30 years’ experience in working with some of the world’s major chemical companies. “Because of our specialisation in this sector, and our close relationship with the key players, we discovered that there was an unsatisfied need for hazardous goods warehousing in this region,” says Michael Pohl, director of warehousing and distribution, business unit chemicals, for Imperial Logistics International.

“Outsourced logistics solutions for this sector must be competent and economical, but also comply with rigorous regulations,” Pohl adds. “Few logistics service providers can match Imperial Logistics’ ability to meet the rigorous regulatory requirements of building and operating a hazardous goods warehouse.”

Imperial Logistics says the 2.8-ha site will allow the varying warehousing needs of different clients to be accommodated in a multi-user facility, meaning that customers will only have to pay for the capacity they use. It will house solid, liquid and gaseous chemicals on racks or in blocks.

PART OF A SYSTEM In addition to traditional warehousing, distribution, customs warehousing and clearance for chemicals producers and traders, the new facility enables Imperial Logistics to offer added-value services such as temperaturecontrolled storage and transportation management, labelling, repacking and display construction. The company’s specialised chemical logistics IT solution will provide clients with valuable data and statistics enabling them to identify trends and optimise operations.

The warehouse embodies numerous safety features: the walls between storage sections are fireproof, as are all warehouse doors. All pallet racks are fitted with fire and smoke detectors, activating an integrated sprinkler system and automatically alerting the local fire brigade. Warning systems are triggered in the event of gas leaks or break-ins. In addition, any water used in fire-fighting is prevented from penetrating floors, and is safely collected in the building before professional disposal.

The new facility is ideally-located on the Niedersachsenpark, connected to Autobahn 1 – a major transport artery serving north-western Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and the Rhine/Ruhr region.

Hakan Bicil, recently appointed as CEO of Imperial Logistics International, says: “Leveraging our specialist competencies, resources and skills, we have delivered productivity increases of over 20 per cent, cost efficiencies and improved risk management for our chemical clients. We will continue to customise our capabilities to drive our chemical clients’ competitiveness.

“Hazardous goods storage and distribution is an exciting growth market in Europe. New products like lithium ion batteries and increasing regulation make outsourcing an increasingly attractive option for clients. This is creating new business opportunities for Imperial Logistics,” concludes Bicil.

Imperial Logistics currently operates a total of around 20 specialist storage facilities throughout Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium with a total capacity of over 340,000 pallets. The company’s client-oriented solutions include on-site and off-site (singleuser or multi-user) warehouses, at which it picks up to 4,000 orders daily and undertakes 800,0000 shipments per annum. HCB www.imperiallogistics.com