Garbe converts military training ground to logistics

Garbe Industrial Real Estate GmbH has secured a conversion area of around 76,000 sq m in Thuringia. The site is the final large plot in the Eisenach Kindel industrial estate in the municipality of Hörselberg-Hainich (Wartburgkreis). A new production and logistics property is to be constructed there for the tenant BCUBE Logistik GmbH by September 2023. Garbe Industrial Real Estate is investing around €40m in the project.

“The area we acquired from the Free State of Thuringia is part of a former military training ground,” explains Adrian Zellner, Member of the Executive Board at Garbe Industrial Real Estate. “During the revitalisation, one focus is therefore on the detection and professional removal of possible combat ordnance and ammunition remnants, as well as on compensating for the enormous height difference. Thanks to our many years of expertise, we are currently on schedule with the conversion of the former brownfield site and want to start construction of the new property before the end of September.”

A state-of-the-art production and logistics property with a total area of around 35,000 sq m is to be built there. BCUBE Logistik GmbH has already been confirmed as the tenant. The company is part of the BCUBE Group, one of the leading international companies for integrated logistics services, employing around 6,700 people worldwide and serving customers in the automotive, aviation and plant engineering sectors.

“With the new hall, we are significantly expanding our previous capacities in Eisenach and creating around 80 jobs at this new location”, says Frank Schöppach, Managing Director of BCUBE Logistik GmbH. “Customised contract logistics operations for a well-known automotive supplier will be handled there in the future. In addition to production supply, packing kit creation, the pre-assembly of components and quality inspection, this will also include the industrial cleaning of standard and specialised load carriers.”

For this purpose, the production and logistics property will be pre-equipped for the installation of two wet and two dry cleaning systems and sealed in accordance with the protective measures for water-polluting substances under the Water Resources Act (WHG). To enable efficient loading and unloading, 30 ramp gates with dock levellers and five ground-level sectional gates are envisaged – as well as parking spaces for 102 cars and nine trucks on the outdoor area.

In addition, the site impresses with its central position in the middle of Germany. The industrial estate is only about 10km from the city of Eisenach and is located directly on the B 84. After only 3km, the Eisenach-Ost junction to the A 4 Bad Hersfeld–Dresden road can be reached without having to drive through built-up areas. This means that BCUBE Logistik GmbH will benefit from short distances between their locations and excellent connections to the motorway network.

Garbe Industrial Real Estate is attaching great importance to sustainability in the construction of the property. “We generally develop our projects according to current ecological standards and ESG criteria. This is part of our corporate strategy,” emphasises Adrian Zellner. As a result, the new building in Hörselberg-Hainich is being constructed according to the specifications of the efficiency building class 55 of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau/Reconstruction Loan Corporation (KfW).

A photovoltaic system covering the entire roof area of the production and logistics hall is planned to produce regenerative energy. Garbe Industrial Real Estate is aiming for certification according to the Gold Standard of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) for this new property.