German tyre manufacturer Continental has extended its logistics centre in Gross-Rohrheim in Germany to 34,000 sq.m to cater to growing market demand.
The 7,000 sq.m increase, equal to a 25% enlargement of the total space, includes an expanded small parts warehouse, with more than 25,000 storage spaces, almost 20,000 more than before. This will ensure car dealers worldwide can be supplied with spare parts in small quantities and shorter order cycles, according to the company.
The expansion also takes the number of pallet spaces at Gross-Rohrheim to 44,550 from 32,400, offering greater flexibility and ensuring dealers can be supplied at peak times.
“The demand for our products is growing continuously. We’ve been growing faster than the market for many years now,” said Peter Wagner, head of Continental’s independent aftermarket business segment. “That is why we had to create additional capacities.”
Continental, based in Hanover, has contracted global logistics provider Kuene + Nagel (KN) to handle processes at the expanded plant, continuing ten years of cooperation between the companies, said KN’s site manager Tanja Ecke.
Inaugurated on March 29, the extension will be put into operation during the second quarter. It is the second expansion since Continental moved into Gross-Rohrheim, about 50km south of Frankfurt, in 2008.
The group describes the location’s connections to several motorways and Frankfurt airport as being an important element of its worldwide logistics chain for passenger car spare parts. Continental ships a range of spare parts which include brake discs, filters and windshield wipers from Gross-Rohrheim.
Additionally, transshipment at the logistics centre has been growing for years and, based on current forecasts, its turnover in 2020 – the first full year after the expansion – will be almost double that of 2008.
