Finished vehicle logistics provider Mosolf has invested €2.7m ($3m) to extend its vehicle handling facility in Kippenheim, Germany. The extension will allow it to accommodate another 2,000 vehicles, bringing the capacity of the site to 32,000 vehicles across 94 hectares.
“Railway traffic between Kippenheim and Düsseldorf was deliberately reactivated for this purpose in March in order to ease the pressure on the roads – a block train replaces 35 special vehicle transporters,” said Dr Jörg Mosolf, the company's CEO, at a ceremony held this week to mark the extension. “Compared to the previous year, the proportion of vehicles transported by rail will increase by 10% in 2017 to 26%.”
Mosolf handled 67,000 vehicles at Düsseldorf last year and there are plans to process more than 70,000 in 2017. A local transport fleet, currently made up of 40 vehicle transporters, picks up vehicles destined for local dealerships from the Düsseldorf multimodal hub for final-mile delivery.
The Düsseldorf hub also handles vehicles arriving and departing via inland waterways. Mosolf transports cars and commercial vehicles to Rotterdam and Antwerp several times a week on board the MS Terra and its sister ship, the MS Terra 2.
Mosolf's Kippenheim facility has the capacity to tranship 500,000 vehicles a year. It has a production area of 30,000 sq.m and provides a range of services for new, fleet and used vehicles. On top of transport, handling and storage, the facility carries out delivery inspection, quality control, repairs, bodywork, assembly and vehicle finishing, among other services.
