On March 17, 2022, the pfenning logistics group, family-run contract logistics service provider, celebrated the symbolic ground-breaking ceremony for the “multicube osthessen”, a logistics center in the Ludwigsau industrial park in north-east Hesse. After completing the extensive ground work, the civil engineering phase can now begin.
The multicube osthessen logistics center is being built on the 220,000 m2 site in the Ludwigsau business park, divided into two construction phases of 77,000 m2 and 29,000 m2 respectively. Due to the strong demand for temperature-controlled logistics services, pfenning logistics acquired the additional space in order to be able to flexibly serve the future needs of its customers. At the new location, pfenning logistics will create around 300 jobs and has already successfully acquired an anchor customer.
The logistics center enables cooling between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius and is therefore particularly suitable for the storage and handling of temperature-controlled consumer goods, food and pharmaceutical products. The goods are stored, sorted and commissioned on site and prepared for further distribution. The pfenning logistics team draws on its decades of expertise as one of the top three retail logistics companies in Germany. Before construction began, the construction company commissioned by pfenning logistics carefully prepared the subsoil. Natural height differences on the site were also leveled out. After the groundbreaking, the civil engineering work will be carried out so that the building construction can begin. The special thing about the construction of this logistics property is that the floor will only be poured after the building construction has been completed, so that damage can be avoided.
The ground-breaking ceremony in Mecklar also served as the starting signal for another logistics center in the neighboring municipality of Bad Hersfeld: the “freshcube osthessen”. Approx. 12,000 m2 of modern storage space will be created here, which will include three temperature zones between 4 and 25 degrees Celsius for temperature-controlled storage and logistics. At the same time, the location serves as the new office and administration center for the HFL employees.
Upon completion, the multicube osthessen and the freshcube osthessen should achieve platinum certification from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). The handover of the first construction phase of the multicube osthessen is scheduled to take place in October 2022, the entire construction, like the freshcube osthessen, is to be completed in May 2023.
As the first anchor customer for the multicube osthessen in Mecklar, pfenning logistics was able to win the company Nestlé, which will be supplying its customers in Germany with products from the coffee, chocolate and cereal ranges from Bad Hersfeld from 2023. Björn Stammer, Head of Logistics at Nestlé Deutschland AG, emphasizes: “We are delighted to have found a partner in pfenning logistics who places just as much importance on sustainability in the construction and operation of its logistics properties as we do. With the new location in Bad Hersfeld, we are reducing our transport kilometers by 30%, making a significant contribution to achieving Nestlé Germany’s climate targets.”
