Dachser enjoys growth in France

VIVE LA CHIMIE!

FRANCE • DACHSER CHEM-LOGISTICS HAS JUST CELEBRATED TEN YEARS IN FRANCE, SERVING THE LOGISTICS NEEDS OF EUROPE’S SECOND LARGEST CHEMICAL INDUSTRY

WITH SALES OF €75bn in 2019, France’s chemical industry is second only to Germany’s in Europe; it is also the fourth largest industrial sector, in terms of domestic R&D expenditure, and has achieved annual growth averaging 2.1 per cent over the past decade. It was natural, therefore, for Dachser to set up a unit in the country in 2010, which itself has made great strides over that period.

“As one of the strongest export industries, France’s chemical industry benefits from the increasing connectivity of Europe’s groupage transports,” explains Michael Kriegel, department head, Dachser Chem-Logistics. “Over the past ten years, we’ve almost quadrupled the annual number of chemical export shipments from France to Germany, and tonnage has more than doubled in the same period.”

Now recording revenues of more than €70m a year, Dachser’s French operation has certainly found a welcoming market, taking advantage of the company’s network standards and global dangerous goods expertise.

“Logistics networks with expertise in chemicals have become a major asset — especially in France, which has various chemical industry hubs spread throughout the country, in particular around Lyon and Marseille,” says Bruno Guillard, corporate business development manager, France and Maghreb, at Dachser Chem-Logistics. “International chemical groups active in France are also looking for logistics providers with SQAS certification.” Dachser has had two of its French locations audited under the Safety and Quality Assessment for Sustainability (SQAS) scheme, managed by the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic).

ALONG THE BORDERLINE “The highly developed chemical logistics infrastructure along the Franco-German border is also very important,” Guillard continues. He points out that this applies to the traditional chemical industry production hubs along the Rhine as well as to Dachser’s new hazardous materials warehouse in Malsch near Karlsruhe, Germany. Opened in 2019, this state-of-the-art facility provides up to three levels of storage for intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) and augments Dachser’s network of specially equipped warehouses in south-west Germany. The scope of services for chemical customers includes distribution as well as procurement logistics and customer-specific solutions as part of contract logistics.

The rise of Dachser Chem-Logistics in France is just one example of the group’s strong growth in the chemical logistics sector which, it says, all hinges on having the expertise to manage the sector’s special tasks. “In particular, this calls for highly qualified employees with the latest expert knowledge, especially when it comes to dangerous goods, as well as the ability to anticipate changes and respond to them flexibly,” Kriegel says. “It is essential that we provide employees with training opportunities to keep the process and product knowledge at each location ‘à jour’.”

Dachser Chem-Logistics has also been able to apply its valuable network and dangerous goods expertise during the Coronavirus pandemic. This applies especially to the challenges that arise when different countries ramp up and curtail their economic activities in different ways and at different times. If supply chains have to be reconfigured, chemical companies need to depend on an efficient and flexible logistics network, something that Dachser Chem-Logistics is well prepared to provide. www.dachser.com

BRUNO GUILLARD (LEFT) AND MICHAEL KRIEGEL

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