Continental has expanded its logistics center in Gross-Rohrheim south of Frankfurt, the site that supplies dealers all over the world with spare parts.
During the course of the second quarter, the technology company will put its new 7,000 sq m warehouse extension into operation, expanding the total available area to 34,000 sq m.
The new logistics area serves as a picking and storage area. It has a separate small parts warehouse with more than 25,000 storage spaces – almost 20,000 more than before – so dealers can also be supplied economically with spare parts in small quantities and with shorter order cycles.
The number of pallet spaces has risen from 32,400 to 44,550 as a result of the expansion, ensuring that dealers are supplied reliably even at peak times and in seasonal business periods.
This is the second warehouse expansion since Continental moved into the site in 2008.
Peter Wagner, head of the independent aftermarket business segment at the inauguration ceremony, said: “The demand for our products is growing continuously, we’ve been growing faster than the market for many years now.
“That is why we had to create additional capacities to continue our success story.”
The logistics real estate expert Prologis developed the warehouse area and manages the property, which the Continental Aftermarket GmbH has leased on a long-term basis. Continental contracted Kühne + Nagel to handle the processes at the plant.
Philipp Feige, vice president, market officer Germany, Prologis, said: “Following our reliable cooperation in the development of the property and the first expansion in Gross-Rohrheim, we’re delighted that Continental has also chosen Prologis for this project.
“The property is distinguished by its high quality and it complies with the latest sustainability standards.”
K+N site manager Tanja Ecke, says: “We’re delighted that after ten years of successful cooperation and joint growth, the Continental Aftermarket GmbH continues to rely on Kühne + Nagel for its central logistics center.
“Over the next few years, we will continue to provide services of the highest level, using state-of-the-art, completely paperless technology. To quote Henry Ford: Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, working together is success.”
Gross-Rohrheim, with its good connections to several motorways and Frankfurt airport, is an important element in Continental’s worldwide logistics chain for passenger car spare parts.
Continental ships a very broad range of spare parts including brake discs, filters and windshield wipers from the expanded warehouse.
Transshipment in the logistics center has been growing continuously for years now, and according to current forecasts, the turnover generated by the logistics center in 2020 – the first full year after the expansion – will have roughly doubled compared to 2008, the year Continental moved in.
