Alpha Industrial completes its third pharmaceutical logistics park / the last available 11,000 sqm of storage, office and social space is currently under construction in Biebesheim near Darmstadt

Alpha Industrial, the investor, project developer, asset manager and owner of logistics and industrial real estate, is close to completing one of the most advanced logistics parks in Germany for the life sciences and health (LSH) sector. At present, the last 11,000 sqm of storage, office and social space is being built on a speculative basis in Biebesheim am Rhein in the state of Hesse. Once this modern building is completed in October 2015, the pharmaceutical logistics park will provide 45,000 sqm of high-quality space for the storage, production, order picking and packaging of medicines and other products from the pharmaceutical industry.

“The units designed for the storage needs of logistics companies, retailers and manufacturers will be ready for occupancy in November 2015 and are currently marketed. They are suitable for any standard logistics contract but also meet the high-quality requirements of the pharmaceutical and chemical industries with regard to security, temperature management and control, and environmental and energy standards,” said Kathrin Fuhrmann from Alpha Industrial.

The project marks a further milestone for Alpha Industrial. Following the construction of the global distribution centre for Fresenius Medical Care in Biebesheim (2007 start) and the development and expansion of the Rheinfelden pharmaceutical logistics park in Baden-Wurttemberg (2012 start), the company is now promoting its third major project for this specialist industry. In addition, the company is taking into operation Germany’s largest gas motor heat pump project with energy-efficient temperature control at Biebesheim.

The pharmaceutical logistics park is centrally located in the Rhine-Main conurbation and is in close proximity to numerous manufacturers from the life sciences & healthcare sector. In order to ensure optimum flows of goods, the site benefits from a good infrastructure with a trimodal connection to the A67 motorway, Frankfurt airport and the Gernsheim container port.

Pharmaceutical and chemical sectors in Hesse show increase in orders
According to the Regional Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, incoming orders for Hesse’s industry increased by 5.1% when adjusted for price in the first half of 2015, and by 2.5% compared to the previous year’s period (1. half-year 2014). At the same time, June 2015 saw an increase of revenue year-on-year by 6.7% to almost €9.5 billion, registering particularly strong growth of the pharmaceutical and chemical industries by almost 20%.

Milestones of Alpha Industrial in the construction of pharmaceutical logistics properties
Alpha Industrial is one of the few project developers and investors to have specialised in the construction of high-tech pharmaceutical buildings. As long ago as 2007, the company started construction work on a 28,500-sqm logistics centre with four building sections for Fresenius Medical Care, and in 2011 received the contract for the extension of the global distribution centre for dialysis products. In partnership with the Grieshaber Logistics Group (Bad Sackingen), Alpha Industrial also built a logistics park for the pharmaceutical industry in 2012 in the Rheinfelden South industrial area on the A5 motorway between Basel and Frankfurt. The first construction phase resulted in a 20,000-sqm logistics building plus 5,000 sqm of mezzanine space and 600 sqm of office and social space.

In 2013 the company received the go-ahead for the new pharmaceutical logistics park in the Rhine-Main area in Biebesheim. The handover of the 22,000-sqm logistics centre with extensive mezzanine and office areas, including the launch of Germany’s largest gas motor heat pump project with energy-efficient temperature control, took place in June 2014.

In 2015, Alpha Industrial signed a long-term lease contract in the second building phase for approx. 11,500 sqm of logistics space with medium-sized pharmaceutical logistics company Logosys Logistik. The company will use the temperature-controlled logistics property including storage areas for flammable liquids as a pharmaceutical warehouse from October 2015.