DB Schenker will be handling the global distribution of parts for Mercedes-Benz Vans from a logistics centre being built for it at the inland port complex in Duisburg, Germany.
Duisburger Hafen (Duisport), which operates the inland port, is investing €15m ($16.8m) on the development which will involve a 25,000 sq.m industrial complex and 1,500 sq.m of office space in its initial phase.
Duisport will lease the facility to DB Schenker by the end of this year, when operations are expected to begin. It is located on the Mercatorinsel peninsula in Duisburg-Ruhrort, where the Rhine and Ruhr rivers meet.
The facility is being built on a parcel of land measuring around 100,000 sq.m near existing container handling facilities at the Duisburg-Ruhrort port complex and therefore offers room for expansion. From the facility, DB Schenker will consolidate, pack and ship individual parts and vehicle components for Mercedes-Benz Vans’ global production network.
“We are very pleased that Daimler will be processing portions of its parts and vehicle component logistics through the port of Duisburg in the future and that it has engaged DB Schenker for this purpose,” said Erich Staake, CEO of Duisport at a ceremony held to mark the beginning of work on the facility this week.
“After Volkswagen and Audi, Daimler is already the third automotive manufacturer to export vehicle components from the port of Duisburg,” added Staake.
Joining him at the opening were Dr Thomas Böger, member of the management board for contract logistics/SCM at Schenker Deutschland.
“We are very proud to enter a new level of logistics partnership with our long-standing customer Daimler,” said Böger. “The convincing overall concept of process experience and an ideal location, with an optimal connection to an inland port, have made this step possible. At the same time, we are pleased to finally be represented with our own large contract logistics facility in the important logistical hotspot of Duisport. For us, the Duisport project is another major step in the expansion of our contract logistics activities."
Also present at the ceremony were Dr Jörg Homering, Daimler’s manager of supply for Mercedes-Benz Vans and Duisburg’s lord mayor, Sören Link.
