10 December, 2021

Descartes helps Dover Hamilton with Brexit challenges

Posted on 10 December, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Descartes Systems Group, a global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, is helping customs clearance agent Dover Hamilton Ltd’s customers navigate post-Brexit EU customs complexities and grow their business with Descartes’ e-Customs.

Established immediately after Brexit in January 2020, Dover Hamilton has put together a team with expert knowledge of new Brexit regulations, customs clearance processes, procedures and compliance – many of whom closely monitored the changes as they were drafted and published by Government lawmakers. In the last 18 months, the company has grown into an international organisation with three branches across the UK and Europe.

Following the UK’s decision to leave the EU, Dover Hamilton identified an opportunity to work closely with its customers – predominantly small- and medium-sized businesses – to help them optimise their road freight import and export operations within the UK, whilst ensuring regulatory compliance at both origin and destination.

Descartes’ e-Customs allows Dover Hamilton to offer exceptional customer service and a high level of responsiveness for its clients. Descartes is supporting Dover Hamilton further by providing the Pentant CSP Badge for imports and exports at non-inventory ports and Dover.

“We recognised that Brexit offered a business opportunity, specifically for road freight imports and exports with the EU,” said Monica Stefan, EU-GB General Customs Manager, Dover Hamilton Ltd. “Descartes’ e-Customs is a comprehensive, efficient and user-friendly platform for customs declarations. It is highly flexible and is incredibly easy to train our customs agents on. One of the most valuable aspects for us is the ability to access it from a secure system when connected to the internet locally or through an encrypted laptop, as this enables us to optimise our customer responsiveness. The level of Brexit expertise at Descartes has been exemplary and has supported us in driving our business growth.”

“We’re proud to be supporting Dover Hamilton’s customs brokerage business as it continues to grow,” said Pól Sweeney, VP Sales UK and Ireland for Descartes. “Dover Hamilton spotted an opportunity in the market and has developed its expertise and knowledge to offer its customers an exemplary service in response to the market changes caused by Brexit – and is consequently thriving.”

Prologis acquires potential logistics site at Heathrow

Posted on 10 December, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Leading developer and owner of logistics property, Prologis, has acquired a prestigious office building at Heathrow Airport, known as the Compass Centre, as part of its ongoing investment into the London logistics market.

The property, previously owned by the Arora Group, is a striking office building, which is currently let to Heathrow Airport Ltd, providing 200,000 sq ft (18,500 sq m) of prime office space close to the airport’s northern perimeter. Set in almost 15 acres of land, the site is just 12 miles (19km) west of central London and is supported by excellent road (M25/M4) and rail links.

Robin Woodbridge, Head of Capital Deployment and Leasing for Prologis in the UK, said: “We are delighted to secure this prestigious building, and its surrounding land, at a time when demand for industrial space and land for development is soaring, especially in areas close to London. Competition is particularly intense for this type of package at the moment, and we are pleased to have been able to complete the transaction off-market.

“While we have no immediate plans to develop the property or land, and the office building will remain let until at least (year), there may be scope to redevelop it for logistics use at some point in the future.”

Commenting on the sale of the Compass Centre, Sanjay Arora, Director at the Arora Group, said: “The Compass Centre has always been a strategic asset in the portfolio for many years. However, with the change in the business environment post COVID, we are pleased to have sold the asset to Prologis, releasing funds to facilitate new projects.”

Once the HQ for British Airways, the Compass Centre was originally built in 1992. The building has been refurbished and provides fully-modernised, energy-efficient office space. The building was acquired by the Arora Family Trust in 2008 as part of a larger portfolio acquisition of the Airport Property Portfolio (APP) from BAA plc.

Prologis acquires potential logistics site at Heathrow

Posted on 10 December, 2021 by David Priestman

Imperial opens new logistics base in Germany

Posted on 10 December, 2021 by Keith McKinley

Imperial has opened a new, multi-user logistics facility in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, located 8km from its existing benchmark multi-user business site in Herten.

The launch customer for the new facility will be a long-standing Imperial customer, Lemken, which is a renowned international manufacturer of agricultural machinery. Imperial will transfer Lemken’s spare part logistics operations from Herten to Gelsenkirchen.

The opening of Imperial’s new multi-user facility in Germany supports its organic growth strategy, introduced in 2019, which has seen multiple investments in workforce expansion and operating infrastructure to date.

According to Hakan Bicil, CEO of Imperial’s Logistics International business, “Our latest multi-user facility provides Lemken with further space for growth, and will also mean that another long-standing customer, KONE, has additional space for its own expansion at our Herten location.”

KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernisation to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle.

“Above all, however, the latest base enables us to welcome further new customers to both business locations, and so we are already actively marketing our expanded capabilities,” added Bicil.

Marco Averesch, previously Warehouse Manager in Herten, will take over operational responsibility for the Gelsenkirchen site, while Patrick König will be in overall charge of both Herten and Gelsenkirchen.

Imperial opens new logistics base in Germany

Posted on 10 December, 2021 by David Priestman

Imperial has opened a new, multi-user logistics facility in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, located 8km from its existing benchmark multi-user business site in Herten.

KONE provides elevators, escalators and automatic building doors, as well as solutions for maintenance and modernisation to add value to buildings throughout their life cycle.

“Above all, however, the latest base enables us to welcome further new customers to both business locations, and so we are already actively marketing our expanded capabilities,” added Bicil.

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