Audi has opened a new packaging centre in Wunstorf near Hanover in northern Germany for the preparation of complete knockdown Audi models destined for shipment to the Chinese and Indian markets.
The 20,000m2 facility has been established as part of a five-year contract with logistics partner Syncreon to provide export packing of its A4, A6, and Q5 vehicles.
It complements Syncreon’s existing operation in Emden, Germany, which also provides dedicated CKD services to Audi.
Syncreon will receive, consolidate and store incoming parts, subsequently pre-packing and assembling the CKD vehicle kits for export. It will also provide complete packaging engineering and supply chain management services, including parts disposition.
Increased volumes in the export market in recent years have driven the need for increased capacity according to the company and the Wunstorf facility will be able to support an additional 400,000m3 of CKD kitting annually.
“We can process all CKD vehicle sets destined for China and India quickly and efficiently in Wunstorf,” said Dr Michael Hauf, head of Audi Brand Logistics.
“For the time being, the new packaging centre provides us with sufficient capacities for the brand’s course of growth in China and India, and for the increasing number of model variants,” said Hauf.
As well as being near the major German ports and the Mittelland Canal, the site in Wunstorf also has good transport links. There are already plans to increase the site area to a total of 40,000 m2 in 2012, which will make Wunstorf Audi’s largest packaging centre.
The new facility will make an important contribution to the brand’s course of growth in China and India.
Syncreon was formed in 2007 from the merger of Walsh Western International, a European supply chain service provider to the technology sector, and TDS Logistics, a global provider of supply chain solutions to the automotive industry. TDS was already a preferred service provider for major automotive OEMs including Audi.
