9 August, 2023

Prologis adds 700,000 sq.ft. UK Warehousing

Posted on 9 August, 20237 August, 2025 by David Priestman

Prologis UK, owner and developer of logistics property, has completed a £240m portfolio of development across London and the Midlands, bringing 627,724 sq. ft. of prime new UK warehousing space to the market across three strategically located sites, with a further 62,537 sq. ft. comprehensively refurbished in Birmingham’s strongest market.

The construction projects at Prologis Park Midpoint and Prologis Park Bromford Gate, both located in Birmingham, and at Prologis Park West London and Prologis Park Brooklands in Weybridge exemplify the business’ continued commitment to providing market-leading logistics property.

The new 163,754 sq. ft. unit, DC6 at Prologis Park Midpoint, has brought the total floor space of one of the UK’s most successful logistics parks to over 1.6 million sq. ft. and is located within the logistics “Golden Triangle” in the Midlands. Net zero carbon in construction, and with a BREAAM ‘Excellent’ rating and EPC A+, the new unit is located just eight miles from central Birmingham and has access to 11 motorway junctions within five miles, making it perfectly situated to support growing supply chain needs.

Similarly, the recently refurbished unit DC1 (62,537 sq. ft.) at Prologis Park Bromford Gate is situated just over three miles from Birmingham City Centre and as one of Birmingham’s most prominent and recognisable parks is easily accessible from the M6 from both junctions 5 and 6. The unit’s comprehensive refurbishment included enhancing the employee amenity and shower facilities, installing LED lighting throughout and providing EV charging provision to achieve an EPC A rating.

Turning attention to the London market, there has been an increased focus on the need for more high-density urban hubs to provide greater last-mile capabilities. In response to the growing needs of the industry, Prologis UK has broken ground on two key development areas within Greater London.

Strategically positioned to ensure access to the major consumer markets within West and Central London as well as the Thames Valley, two new units have reached completion at Prologis Park West London.

With a combined footprint of 339,569 sq. ft., units DC5 (195,720 sq. ft.) and DC6 (143,849 sq. ft.) stand as testament to Prologis UK’s commitment to setting standards in the industry. Beyond net zero in construction and EPC ‘A’-rated, both units also boast solar photovoltaics (PV) and will serve to help alleviate the increased need for high-density urban hubs that can provide greater last-mile capabilities. Both DC5 and DC6 are available immediately on flexible short term leases, a unique proposition in a competitive market.

Likewise, Prologis Park Brooklands DC1, achieved – BREEAM ‘Excellent ‘and EPC A+, is situated in a proven last-mile delivery location, serving Central and South London, with easy access to the M25, M3 and A3. The new 124,401 sq. ft. logistics facility draws upon a large and skilled labour pool from Weybridge and surrounding areas. Both Prologis Park West London and Prologis Park Brooklands are designed and built to meet the demands of high-performance operations.

Paul Weston, Regional Head at Prologis UK, said: “Our investment into such an extensive development programme goes to show the lengths to which we are prepared to go to service the market, and our customers. After listening to the market, we’re excited to be completing our new units that push the boundaries of what is achievable in the industrial and logistics sector. Having led the charge for sustainable and innovation in logistics property developments, we’re proud to continue our legacy of providing spaces that truly add value to our customers and communities.”

Electric Terminal Tractor Passes Practical Test

Posted on 9 August, 202329 July, 2025 by David Priestman

The freight forwarding and logistics company, Duvenbeck, is taking another step towards switching its fleet to low-emission vehicles. The firm tested a fully electric terminal tractor unit at its business site in Rastatt in July this year. It was used to move uncoupled (semi-)trailers at the factory site of a vehicle manufacturer.

“The terminal tractor unit made by the Dutch manufacturer, Terberg, has completed its first operations in everyday service without causing any problems,” says Volker Mürb, the Duvenbeck Branch Manager in Rastatt, summarising the results. “The performance of the electric motor is in no way inferior to that of a diesel engine. It was easily possible to complete a day‘s shift without having to recharge the battery.”

Duvenbeck manages the trailer yard for a vehicle manufacturer. This involves a large-scale parking area where the truck trailers and swap bodies, which are full of components that have been supplied, are made available so that they can be driven to the relevant unloading points at the factory. Duvenbeck uses so-called handling vehicles for this purpose and operates ten of them at Rastatt. Duvenbeck completes several hundred handling movements there every day. Testing an emission-free electric variant forms part of the company’s response to the increasing calls for sustainability by customers in the automobile industry.

Duvenbeck and the customer will now examine whether the test should be turned into a long-term phase lasting one year. The company has used tractor units powered by a diesel engine to move the trailers up to now. The capacity of the battery of the Terberg YT203-EV electric variant, which has been tested, is 150 kilowatt hours (kWh) and the unit is roughly two-and-a-half times more expensive than the diesel version. It is also necessary to have the appropriate charging infrastructure. “Overall, any switch to electrically powered terminal tractor units would entail significant additional investments,” Mürb adds.

Duvenbeck has been working in the trailer yard management business in Rastatt for more than 25 years. Its services include coordinating and scheduling the incoming and outgoing truck trailers and swap bodies as well as opening, closing and making available the trailers, depending on the vehicle manufacturer’s needs and production procedures; Duvenbeck is also responsible for securing loads. Duvenbeck’s complete fleet includes 1,500 articulated units, consisting of a tractor unit and trailer, 3,500 trailers and 1,000 swap bodies. They are mainly used for customers operating in the automotive industry.

Electric Terminal Tractor Passes Practical Test

Posted on 9 August, 202329 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Overlapping Route Planning Solution

Posted on 9 August, 2023 by David Priestman

The exciting new partnership between supply chain software leader EPG and route planning innovator Greenplan has already reached a significant milestone, with the news that time-critical logistics specialist DANX is rolling out Greenplan in its Denmark operations.

“Our mission is to be the leading provider in time-critical service logistics across Eu-rope,” said Thomas Wad, CTIO at DANX Carousel group. “In our business, we need to excel at both speed and service-quality as we aim to deliver faster than anybody else aiming for 99% service fulfilment. This leaves minimal room for errors in our network planning. Greenplan is one of our innovative partnerships that we hope to be part of the solution of securing our excellence as we grow, and complexity rises. Better and faster planning means even better delivery and the most efficient transportation network also means fewer carbon emissions for our customers.”

Unique ‘Overlapping’ Algorithm

Billed as one of the most innovative developments in delivery planning software in re-cent years, Greenplan provides a unique algorithm which enables previously relatively fixed driver ‘rounds’ or districts to overlap, beyond the traditional route boundaries and zip codes. This dramatically improves quality in terms of delivery times and optimizes costs and efficiencies for the provider, because significant savings in mileage and time management can be achieved.

After the merger between DANX and Carousel Logistics last year, the DANX Carousel group has already announced its clear ambition to be the No. 1 provider of critical ser-vice logistics in Europe. As a front-rank supplier of spare parts to industries such as the automotive and agricultural industries, DANX guarantees that any pre-5pm order will be delivered by 7am the following morning. With a guaranteed 99% on-time performance, the route and delivery planning software package needs to be 100% effective.

Greenplan’s Competitive Win

DANX Denmark chose Greenplan because it outperformed all competitors in meeting strict requirements. Supporting faster and more reliable automation in transport pro-cesses, it was most responsive to fast-changing customer needs as well as cost-competitive on every metric, all backed up by outstanding engineering and service attention. “The screening process revealed that the competition was unable to meet our requirements, while Greenplan met our criteria in terms of speed and handling,” explained Daniel Skov, Strategy Manager at DANX Carousel group. “Greenplan also showed great ability to mitigate existing operational processes.”

Greenplan’s ‘overlapping’ functionality is a clear point of difference, he added. “It really stands Greenplan out from the crowd, allowing DANX Denmark to go from fixed route planning to part-dynamic modelling. This transforms our company proposition and allows us to prepare for future challenges knowing we have the best technical tools to help us.”

Greenplan has now started the roll-out process across DANX Denmark’s seven distribution centres and 100 vehicles in Denmark, having received positive feedback on initial testing in the Aarhus and Fredericia districts.

Florian Merget, Managing Director at Greenplan, said: “Our aim is to improve outcomes for our customers by increasing efficiency and offering extra agility at pace. Green-plan’s unique overlapping ability to predict most accurate traffic flows brings fully dynamic route planning ever closer.”

Overlapping Route Planning Solution

Posted on 9 August, 20237 August, 2025 by David Priestman

Unique ‘Overlapping’ Algorithm

Greenplan’s Competitive Win

Optimal Spare Parts Storage Solution

Posted on 9 August, 202329 July, 2025 by David Priestman

Swedish Agro Machinery AB, distributor and importer of farming machinery has decided to centralize its spare parts storage system and equip the new warehouse of 3,700 square meters with SSI Schaefer’s logistics solutions. Pallet and cantilever racks, shelves and SSI LOGIMAT® Vertical Lift Modules are parts of the solution. The result: a compact warehouse with up to 23,000 different parts and an overnight delivery.

In 2016, Swedish Agro Machinery took over the import of Claas products, a manufacturer of agricultural machinery, to Sweden and Norway. The new updated organizational structure needed a new facility to store spare parts efficiently. They chose to put it in Skåne Skurup, in the middle of one of Sweden’s most fertile agricultural areas, also near Denmark and the centre of the European continent. The challenge was, that they need to store parts in very different ways due to the various dimensions in the new warehouse. Swedish Agro already had realized some projects with SSI Schaefer in the past, so that is why they have been involved as a partner in the project since the very beginning.

“We were looking for one supplier for the overall system. We wanted to partner with the manufacturer to ensure the best quality of the equipment and total control over its production. That is why SSI Schaefer was selected as a general contractor for the project,” shares Martin Gerdtsson, Spare Parts Manager at Swedish Agro Machinery in Skurup.

Local presence is crucial for Swedish Agro. When an agricultural machine is on service, there should be no disruption, especially during the high season. That is why the company holds 25 workshops in the network with the extra focus on agricultural areas in Skåne, Västra Götaland, Östergötland and Uppland. Swedish Agro’s commitment is to deliver the ordered spare parts for the next day if they are not in place locally.

Material flow supported by the new solution

The goods are delivered by trucks, unpacked at the work stations manually, sorted according to type and size and brought to different storage systems. Spare parts for agricultural machinery vary greatly in size, share and weight. It’s everything from single bolts to input screws in the ten-meter class.

In fact, Swedish Agro needed ten different ways of storing. This includes long-span and cantilever racks for lying goods and compartments for storing standing mouldings. This is very effective as some of the spare parts can be quite large. To utilize also the vertical space optimally, a narrow aisle has been set up with shelves. Smaller spare parts are stored in two SSI LOGIMAT® Vertical Lift Modules, which accommodate around 16,000 items.

When goods are needed for an order, they are picked by a forklift or manually by an employee to be packed at the workstations for shipping. All orders received before 3.30 pm are delivered to the service workshops the following morning. This is possible thanks to dense logistics arrangements with overnight deliveries.

“Swedish Agro is loyal to its customers in maintaining quality and promised delivery terms. Our installation has been able to grow and develop with new opportunities, in line with the spare part’s expansion. We are very happy to lead this project and support Swedish Agro with a system to perfect their material flow,” concludes Anders Jonasson, Sales Manager at SSI Schaefer.

With the new warehouse, Swedish Agro has strengthened their position by securing spare parts availability in the region and optimizing their capacities. Martin Gerdtsson summarizes: “The main reasons why we chose SSI Schaefer were that we really felt from the beginning that they already knew our needs through past cooperation and, of course, they had a solution for storing spare parts with a wide range of dimensions.”

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