STIHL and Hellmann open new central warehouse in Voelklingen, Germany
On November 14, 2022, the new STIHL central warehouse in Voelklingen, Germany, was officially opened. The logistics site was built by Dietz AG as the investor and is operated by Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. With the new building, the STIHL Group is not only increasing its capacities, but also improving its logistical efficiency and speed. Battery products and all STIHL tools manu-factured at the Tirol production site are stored at the new logistics and distribution location, from where they are delivered to all STIHL sales companies and STIHL dealers worldwide - mainly in Germany, France and the Benelux countries. In addition, products ordered directly from STIHL's own online store are supplied from Voelklingen. While the first deliveries have already been han-dled from Voelklingen since August of this year, the warehouse will be fully operational from January 2023.
Dr. Nikolas Stihl, Chairman of the STIHL Advisory Board and Supervisory Board, emphasizes: "With the central warehouse in Voelklingen, we are not only eliminating existing and foreseeable capacity bottlenecks, but are also optimally positioning ourselves with a view to targeted growth, especially in the future field of batteries. After all, you can only remain a market leader in our in-dustry if speed and cost efficiency in logistics are also internationally competitive in the long term."
The STIHL Group's largest logistics warehouse is operated by Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
The state-of-the-art STIHL central warehouse in Voelklingen has a total area of approximately 58,000 m², including around 3,000 m² of mezzanine space and 1,600 m² of office space. The facili-ty features modern warehousing and picking technologies, such as smartwatches that display stock levels and instructions, replacing the classic hand-held scanner. Thanks to the combination of narrow-aisle, live storage and wide-aisle storage, the facility is optimally adapted to the goods being stored and enables maximum flexibility.
"With the new building, we are optimizing our processes from order handover to customer deliv-ery. I am firmly convinced that this highly competitive logistics system will enable us to meet the high demands of our customers in the best possible way," says Dr. Georg Miehler, Head of Sales Logistics at STIHL. The Austrian manufacturing site STIHL Tirol was also closely involved in the project. Dr. Clemens Schaller, Managing Director of STIHL Tirol, emphasizes: "We are delighted to be entrusted with the operational management of the new STIHL central warehouse, which will no doubt make a significant contribution to the further growth of the STIHL Group."
Central warehouse in Voelklingen designed for further growth
STIHL will invest more than 150 million euros in the central warehouse during the agreed con-tract period until 2032. For example, additional self-propelled picking equipment will be used as of next year. The 120,000 m² site also offers the possibility to expand the warehouse area by 30,000 m² as of 2025, so that STIHL is well prepared for oncoming rises in sales.
"The inauguration of the STIHL central warehouse is a real milestone for all of us and we are very much looking forward to continuing to grow together in the coming years as part of our strategic partnership with STIHL," said Volker Sauerborn, COO, Contract Logistics Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.
Sven Eisfeld, Managing Director Germany, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, adds: "With the new location in Voelklingen, we are significantly expanding our presence in southwest Germany and thus creating the conditions for further growth in the region. At the same time, I am very pleased that we have created more than 120 new jobs in the Germany-France-Luxembourg triangle, which will further increase in line with the planned volume growth in subsequent years".
Voelklingen's Mayor Christiane Blatt is also please: "With Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, one of the world's leading logistics companies, and the STIHL Group, two real global players have decid-ed in favor of Voelklingen. For the city of Voelklingen, a settlement on this scale is of upmost stra-tegic importance as it not only strengthens the economic infrastructure in the long term, but also creates more than 120 jobs".
