SEACON’S TRANSOCEANIC BASE
[BIZ: Duisburg, November 15] This is a high point in the development of Seacon Logistics. Operations have multiplied five-fold (buildings) at the trade port in Venlo; they have developed extensively in the South, with Antwerp access via PLC at the Barge Terminal at Born, and are now established firmly at Europe’s largest inland port in Duisburg. Seacon has achieved revenues of EUR 60m in this its 20th anniversary year; and, with the completion of its location in Duisburg will be operating more than 120,000m2 of warehousing space. From Q1, 2006, rail cargo and trucks or barges from the Rhine and ports worldwide will be bringing goods to Duisburg for them - where the staff of 30 will add the value of logistical professionalism, be they cans of pineapple, children’s toys, or textiles. EDEKA, a EUR 37bn annual revenue, German food wholesale and retail group - a product of the integration of Spa and Netto South with 11,000 outlets - will be Seacon’s major customer at the service center, using it for the import of canned food and non-food articles. Technologically sophisticated and number one in the German retail food trade, EDEKA is setting new standards for procurement logistics within the group. “We are working very hard on the on-going optimization of our processes,” says Michael Mahlberg, head of the recently established procurement logistics sector at Hamburg’s EDEKA ZENTRALE, which was established for this purpose. “We are expecting seven-figure savings annually on this specific project.” EDEKA will accordingly build its capacity step by step and bring additional suppliers to the Duisburg center. A further objective of EDEKA’s new procurement concept is the improved handling of national and international flows of goods via hubs in Germany from 2006. Centralized tri-modal logistics at five centers is already being linked into the Dutch hubs at Venlo and Born. Seacon has 20 years of specialist experience in the organization and management of central warehouses and European distribution. The key is the construction of strategically located inland terminals, and the linking of these by reliable and rapid inter-modal connections to ports and the European hinterland. “This is our move into the inter-continental business. Shippers from the United States, the Far East, and Turkey see Duisburg as an optimal tri-modal location for European markets,” said Seacon’s Germany Manager, Johan Geurts. Seacon is going transoceanic readying the intercontinental supply chain for tomorrow and today’s emerging markets.
Hai Berden, President and CEO of Seacon Logistics, accompanied by the Dutch Minister of Transport, Dr Karla Peijs and the North-Rhine Westphalian Minister of Finance, Dr Helmut Linssen, opened Seacon Logistics’ new operation in Duisburg’s old Imperial Harbor on November 7. Seacon’s service center covers 16,000m2 on a 33,000m2 site that has been built up in the Port of Duisburg over a period of 12 months, providing direct tri-modal facilities by road, rail, and water.
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