Mercedes-Benz’s International Consolidation Center will open in the second quarter of 2025 with sustainability at the core of its construction and logistics planning.
Work is progressing on Mercedes-Benz’s 130,000 sq.m International Consolidation Center (ICC) in Bischweier, Germany, with completion now expected in the second quarter of 2025. Construction began on the former Kronospan premises in April this year and construction materials from the existing building on the site will be recycled and reused for the new building, according to property developer Panattoni.
The ICC will be a central consolidation point for Mercedes-Benz to supply its international production network with vehicle components.
Sustainability will also be a feature of the logistics supporting the facility, with short transport routes, the increasing use of electric trucks and the reactivation of the rail connection on the premises for supply parts over long distances. The ICC is being built in close proximity to the Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt and the pressing plant in Kuppenheim.
A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz said the building structure is completely finished except for the train hall, which will be finished when the railway connection is made in the coming months. Work is continuing on façade paneling and the roofs are largely covered, except for the loading tunnels where work is still ongoing. “Inside the buildings, all work related to the interior finishing is currently in progress, including drywall installation, painting, and electrical work,” said the spokesperson.
When work began on the facility Klaus Bücheler, head of logistics planning at Mercedes-Benz, explained the contribution the ICC will make to the carmaker’s efforts at improving the sustainability of its supply chain. “The ICC in Bischweier will make a significant contribution in the future on the regional level and for our global production network,” he said. “We are pleased to be realising the ICC in cooperation with Panattoni and in collaboration with the municipality and the citizens of Bischweier as a significant milestone in our transport strategy. We are helping to strengthen the Rastatt plant and the region long-term.”
The Ratstatt plant makes the Mercedes-Benz A- and B-Class, as well as the compact SUV GLA and the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQA.
At the recent annual conference for the Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG), Anouck Arnaud, director of worldwide transport logistics at Mercedes-Benz, said the carmaker is collaborating with its transport providers on the use of etrucks for inbound and the outbound transport, including for use at the ICC. Arnaud said etrucks that bring parts into the centre will be able to recharge as they unload.
Arnaud also pointed to the ongoing collaboration around logistics operations that Mercedes-Benz has with the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), supported by consistent and available real-time data for prioritisation. That includes for decarbonisation and the agreed standards on measuring carbon saved. “It only works if everyone uses it,” she said at the conference. “There are standards on data formatting and for this collaboration is the most important.”
Fred-Markus Bohne, managing partner at Panattoni Germany and Austria, welcomed Mercedes-Benz’s demand for sustainability. “The people and the region will also benefit from the new ICC in Bischweier,” he said. “It is a lighthouse project for all of the parties involved.”
The ICC will employ 500 people when fully operational.
Last month Mercedes-Benz opened a battery recycling centre in nearby Kuppenheim, with technology partner Primobius. The carmaker said it had “invested tens of millions of euros” in the construction of the new battery recycling plant to close the loop in battery materials supply. According to Mercedes-Benz, the Kuppenheim recycling plant has an annual capacity of 2,500 tonnes and the recovered materials will be used to make 50,000 battery modules for new all-electric Mercedes-Benz models.
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