BUDAPEST: July 01, 2019. Budapest Airport has completed construction of a 21,600 sq.mt. warehouse at its new freight terminal BUD Cargo City in just nine months.
Rene Droese, BUD Chief Property and Cargo Officer said: “The topping out ceremony marks another important step towards the opening of BUD Cargo City, which will cement our position as the air cargo hub for Central and Eastern Europe.
“Since record-breaking air cargo volumes and growth in 2018, handled volumes have remained stable at BUD this year, bucking the industry-wide trend for 2019,” he added.
BUD Cargo City will also include a forwarder building of 11,200 sq.mt plus a 32,000 sq.mt. apron providing space for handling two Boeing B-747-8F aircraft. Project completion is set for Q4 this year.
“The pre-leasing ratio of BUD Cargo City demonstrates a clear demand for high-quality facilities, and we believe that with all efforts and steps to create an ideal home for air cargo at BUD, we will attract much more cargo from our catchment zone in the future than today,” said Droese.
Pictured: Rene Droese, BUD Chief Property and Cargo Officer speaking at the new warehouse topping out ceremony.
BREMEN: June 03, 2019. Property developer Goodman is building a 12,500 square metre logistics centre in Bremen for Amazon that will open later this year.
Director of Amazon Logistics in Germany Bernd Gschaider said: “More than 20 years of logistical competence, technological progress and investment in transport infrastructure have gone into this building.”
In addition to the logistics centre Goodman is building a multi-level car park for 277 Amazon delivery vans and their 400 drivers.
Since 2006 the company has developed more than 1.2 million square metres of logistics centres for Amazon in Europe that began in Leipzig and has continued in Cologne, Duisburg and Hamburg. The new building will be Goodman’s 14th logistics location for the e-commerce retailer.
"Bremen as a transport hub with its excellent connections to shipping, rail and road traffic is of enormous strategic importance to our customers,” explained Goodman head of Business Development Christof Prange. “This is underscored by the fact that we have experience in developing logistics properties for a wide variety of industries including contract logistics, the light industrial and automotive sectors and urban distribution.”
Goodman Group is an integrated property group with operations throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, the United Kingdom, North America and Brazil.
LONDON: October 18, 2018. Amazon is to install solar panels on 10 fulfilment centres across the UK in the next 18 months with a combined capacity of 20 megawatts.
The company expects the panels to generate enough electricity to power over 4,500 UK homes and reduce its carbon footprint by 6,000 tonnes of CO2 annually. The solar systems will be developed and funded by Macquarie Principal Finance.
Amazon has also signed a deal for 100 percent renewable electricity to power its UK buildings from renewable sources such as solar or wind as part of a commitment to deploy solar systems on 50 customer fulfilment centres globally by 2020.
“As our fulfilment network continues to expand, we want to help generate more renewable energy at both existing and new facilities around the world in partnership with community and business leaders,” said Stefano Perego, Operations Director for Amazon UK. “We are putting our scale and inventive culture to work on sustainability, which is good for the environment, our business, our customers, and the communities in which we operate."
Amazon will also install battery systems at a number of its fulfilment centres as part of a load management programme. Batteries will be charged at times of low demand for use to power buildings when commercial and consumer use is at its highest.
“Ten years on from the Climate Change Act, the first ever Green GB week is a time to build on our successes and explain the huge opportunities for business and young people of a cleaner economy," commented UK minister for Energy and Clean Growth Claire Perry.
HONG KONG: October 12, 2018. Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd (Hactl) has installed 1,300 sq. mt. of solar panels on the roof of its SuperTerminal 1 facility in Hong Kong.
The installation will generate 160 kWp and the output fed into the local power grid.
Hactl’s CEO Wilson Kwong commented: “This is a major step forward in Hactl’s ‘Green Terminal’ project and will make a significant contribution to our efforts to minimise our terminal’s environmental impact.
“Given the size and nature of buildings in the world of air cargo and logistics, the scope for similar installations is enormous; and there is a strong economic argument as well as an environmental one.”
The system is being designed, installed and maintained by CLP Engineering Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CLP Holdings.
In August Hactl marked the latest phase in its environmental programme with an event entitled ‘Don’t Wait, Act Now’ to instill a sense of urgency in reducing society’s collective environmental impact.
Quality Assurance senior manager Benny Siu, who has spearheaded Green Terminal since its inception, said the initiative was designed to change the habits of the company’s staff, tenants and terminal users.
“With this event and our recent actions, we are asking people to think about their personal impact on the environment, and to make small changes that can make a big difference. We hope that good eco habits nurtured in the workplace will travel home with our staff and be shared with families and friends,” he explained.
Pictured: Alex Keisser, managing director of CLP Engineering (centre left) and Hactl CEO Wilson Kwong (centre right) celebrate the contract signing with representatives of both companies at Hactl’s SuperTerminal 1 facility.
SINGAPORE: June 06, 2018. Business real estate developer Ascendas-Singbridge and Singapore’s Temasek investment company have committed S$400 million to invest in logistics and industrial real estate in in India.
The move follows a joint venture between Ascendas and Firstspace Realty to provide logistics and industrial facilities in key warehousing and manufacturing hubs in Mumbai, National Capital Region, Pune, Chennai, Bangalore and Ahmedabad.
“We welcome Temasek’s support and investment in the Programme, which will leverage Ascendas-Firstspace’s global customer base and local execution capabilities to meet the needs of the future economy,” said chief investment officer Ms. He Jihong.
Ascendas has also launched an industrial real estate development platform that is expected to meet growing demand from 3PLs, e-commerce, automobiles, FMCG, modern retail and engineering.
“The positive momentum of the sector, underpinned by the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ vision as well as healthy consumption trends, present opportunities for us to further invest in India’s continued growth,” added Temasek managing director India Promeet Ghosh.
“This new venture will help address the growing demand for quality logistics and industrial space, and provide companies with the support they need to scale and succeed in India,” he continued.
NORTHAMPTON, UK: October 10, 2018. Dachser has renewed its 25-year relationship with German supermarket chain Aldi with a five-year contract to provide additional warehouse capacity and distribution services throughout the UK and Ireland.
The co-operation includes the introduction of an Excise Bond platform for wines and spirits from suppliers prior to full trailer-load deliveries to Aldi’s regional distribution centres.
‘The improvements to our wines and spirits supply chain were visible right from the outset,” commented Fritz Walleczek, Aldi managing director of Corporate Logistics. “Very quickly, we were able to consign more and more products from an increasing number of suppliers via Dachser’s platform. The operation has proved itself to be highly scalable and has directly supported our continued increase in market share.”
Dachser has now added warehouse capacity at its Northampton Brackmills logistics centre to accommodate both alcohol and shelf life food products.
“Over the years, Dachser has been privileged to be involved with Aldi’s UK success story, providing an ever-increasing scope of logistics and supply-chain services,” declared Dachser’s new managing director Mark Rollinson. “I am really looking forward to working with Aldi in my new role.”
Aldi has 775 locations and over 30,000 employees in the UK with 2017 sales of over £10 billion. By the end of this year it will add 70 new sites and by 2022 expects to operate over 1,000 stores. The company pays a minimum hourly wage of £8.85 nationally and £10.20 in London.
amazon has announced it will increase basic pay from November 01 for its 40,000 permanent and temporary UK staff to £10.50 an hour in London, and £9.50 in the rest of the country.
SHANGHAI: May 11, 2018. GLP, a provider of logistics real estate and technology solutions, has launched a US$1.6 billion private equity fund for logistics.
Called Hidden Hill Modern Logistics Private Equity Fund, GLP said it is the only fund in China dedicated to investing in the logistics “ecosystem” and will be managed by Hidden Hill Capital, the private equity platform of GLP China.
Investors in the Fund comprise long-term institutional investors and insurance businesses including China Post Capital, said the company.
Ming Mei, GLP co-founder and CEO explained: “The launch of Hidden Hill is a major milestone for GLP. The Fund will invest in adjacent growth sectors that complement GLP’s real estate business, with a focus on companies employing technology to enhance efficiency in the logistics industry.
“We are excited to partner with like-minded investors, continuing our strategy of pioneering a smart logistics ecosystem that harnesses technology to enhance returns for our customers,” he added.
GLP has US$50 billion in assets under management. The company’s real estate investments span 62 million square metres in Europe, China, the US, Brazil and Japan.
Last month GLP UK subsidiary Gazeley announced the purchase of a six-acre lot in London’s Docklands to develop a three-floor logistics facility. The 426,000 sq. ft. warehouse space opposite London City Airport (pictured) will be used as a last mile logistics hub for London and its surrounding catchment area for e-commerce, distribution and logistics customers.
"This type of development has never been done before in the UK. A three-storey warehouse in such a central location will be hugely valuable for Londoners who will benefit from customers being able to deliver goods in record time," said Gazeley UK managing director Alex Verbeek. "London is at the forefront of the digital revolution, but these services require an equally innovative supply chain to facilitate it.”
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: October 03, 2018. Brazil's largest online retailer Saraiva is expanding its distribution network in South-East Brazil with support from Ceva Logistics.
From its multi-user warehouse at Extrema in the Minas Gerais municipality, Ceva will manage more than one million products the company offers to the Brazilian market via its e-commerce service and a network of 115 physical stores throughout the country.
"Ceva Logistics is enabling us to strengthen our unique customer strategy of offering both e-commerce and physical store options,” commented Saraiva Logistics manager Alexandre Faria. “Not only will it provide us with greater agility in domestic deliveries, we will also be able to restock our physical stores faster”.
The new facility will specialize in telephony, computing and gaming and allow Saraiva's customers to choose a ‘Turbo Delivery’ option for next-day delivery for orders placed before 3pm.
Ceva already employs 500 staff for the retailer providing order picking services, warehousing, inventory management and shipping via two distribution centres.
Begun in 1914, Saraiva’s online business is now 30 percent of the company’s range of educational, cultural and entertainment products and services. In 2017 more than 30 million products were shipped to its stores and over 10 million individual items were sold through its e-commerce platform.
The company was founded by Joaquim Ignácio da Fonseca Saraiva, a Portuguese immigrant, who opened a small second-hand bookstore in Largo do Ouvidor in São Paulo. Due to its location near the Largo de São Francisco Law School, it became popular with law professors and students and so began specializing in law books.
Saraiva published his first book, Casamento Civil (Civil Marriage), within the decade to begin a focus that would continue for the next 30 years and eventually establish the company as the most respected publisher of law books in the country.
DELHI: July 21, 2017. The implementation of a new Goods and Services tax (GST) in India, as a replacement for a myriad of local and state levies, has prompted warehouse BtB marketplace Log-hub and supply chain analytics company 3SC to offer supply chain cost-savings under the new tax regime.
Log-hub is a Swiss logistics company led by former Cargolux CEO Dirk Reich. 3SC Solutions is an Indian end-to-end-supply chain solutions business founded by former Kuehne+Nagel Asia Pacific vice president Lalit Das.
The two companies say they provide complete supply chain planning and execution services throughout India via a control tower of more than 200 experts.
"Due to implementation of the new GST tax system, the dominance of decentralized local storage will be diminishing and regional or nationwide logistics locations will gain more importance," declared Log-hub India manager Rabiya Gill. "Nevertheless, the ongoing combination of multiple complex tax systems as well as transit times at the local borders makes it essential to have an in-depth know-how of local tax regimes while re-defining the supply chain networks."
Both companies offer a variety of predictive and prescriptive analytical services including demand profiling and forecasting, supply chain network design, vehicle route planning, load- and packaging optimization.
"There is no Indian competitor that can offer the depth and breadth plus global experience and neutrality that Log-hub and 3SC Solutions (right) together offer to the market," added Das.
According to a study by Agility Logistics, the impact of the GST reforms over time is expected to increase India's internal and external trade by at least 29 percent and 32 percent respectively.
With GST replacing more than a dozen levies with a single tax regime, Agility expects larger logistics companies will benefit more than any other sector, as the GST will substantially cut the cost of moving goods across Indian state borders.
As a result, these companies will reshape their supply chain networks as the new tax regime will no longer provide an incentive to set up one major warehouse in each state, says the Kuwait-based logistics giant. Instead, inventory will be centralized and national warehouse networks will consist of fewer but larger units – a view echoed by Log-hub's Gill.
TORONTO: June 20, 2018. The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is to allocate C$175 million for a 20 percent stake in a new logistics partnership investing in logistics and industrial assets in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Launched by Goodman Group, the C$880 million Partnership also includes global investors APG, First State Super and GIC.
“CPPIB expects the industrial sector to particularly benefit from an improvement in Brazil’s domestic consumption, supporting long-term demand for modern, efficient logistics space,” says Hilary Spann, Managing Director, Head of Americas, Real Estate Investments. “Together with Goodman, a longstanding global real estate partner, and other like-minded investors, the Partnership will work to deliver over one million square metres of high-quality logistics space, a supply-constrained segment in Brazil.”
The Partnership is acquiring an initial portfolio comprising four high-quality Class A warehouse logistics facilities and two development land sites primarily located in the consolidated logistics markets of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
“Since 2006, when we made our first investment in Latin America, this region has been a key focus market for CPPIB. The strong fundamentals and growth prospects in Brazil and Latin America are attractive to CPPIB and we are committed to increasing our exposure over the long term,” adds Rodolfo Spielmann, Managing Director, Head of Latin America. “CPPIB is well-positioned as a valuable investment partner in the region given our long-term focus and our team of experienced investment professionals based in São Paulo.”
CPPIB has C$12.3 billion invested in Latin America real estate, public equities, private equity funds and direct investments, of which C$3.7 billion is invested in Brazil.
