slovakia Archives

iLogistics Centre in Slovakia Doubles Capacity

Posted on 15 November, 202331 July, 2025 by David Priestman

On Tuesday November 14th the international transport and logistics provider cargo-partner officially launched the construction of the third warehouse hall at its iLogistics Centre in Dunajská Streda. The expansion will almost double the storage capacity from the current 27,600 to 50,000 pallet spaces. Upon completion, cargo-partner will create 60 to 70 additional jobs at the new facility.

cargo-partner has been operating in Slovakia for 30 years and is one of the most successful freight forwarding providers in the country. The company earned a turnover of nearly 140 million euro in 2022 and currently employs more than 200 logistics specialists across its branch offices in Bratislava, Dunajská Streda, Žilina, and Košice.

Boosting capacity

The iLogistics Centre in Dunajská Streda has been in operation since 2012, gradually expanding to meet growing customer demand for logistics solutions. The previous expansion in 2020 increased the warehouse capacity to 18,200 m². The construction of the third hall marks the fourth and final phase of the project, bringing the storage capacity of the logistics complex to 34,300 m² on a site of 60,000 m².

The new Class A warehouse building was designed with an emphasis on energy efficiency. It will feature a racking system with 22,400 pallet spaces spread over 14,600 m², as well as a structurally separated area of 1,500 m² that can serve as a dust-free warehouse or a rework zone. The facility will include 22 loading ramps and two drive-in gates for efficient loading and unloading. There are also plans to install a second KLT washing machine in addition to the one at the existing facility.

Direct connection to Metrans terminal

The warehouse’s strategic location and direct connection to the Metrans intermodal terminal allow cargo-partner to reduce handling time by one to two days, resulting in significant ecological and economic advantages. “Thanks to our connection to the intermodal terminal, we can unload containers arriving by train from the ports of Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Koper, Rotterdam, Trieste, and Istanbul directly into our warehouse, eliminating the need for truck transport. Our cross-dock hub has nine container loading and unloading gates as well as a separate gate for heavy and oversized goods,” said Tibor Majzún, Managing Director Slovak Republic and Regional Director North East Europe at cargo-partner. Currently, cargo-partner is the only company in Slovakia to provide this service.

Operations are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2024. In the first phase, cargo-partner will hire 20 new employees. Once the new warehouse hall is fully operational, this is expected to increase to 60-70 positions.

The official ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Dr. Johannes Wimmer, Ambassador of Austria to Slovakia, Mag. Bettina Trojer, Commercial Counsellor of the Austrian Embassy, and Ing. Alena Blahútová, Corporate Director Real Estate of ATL Immoinvest.

Mag. Stefan Krauter, Founder and CEO of cargo-partner, emphasized the importance of the iLogistics Centre: “Our Slovak team is a top performer in our group, and I am glad they have recognized and taken advantage of Dunajská Streda’s potential as a vital intermodal hub, turning it into a thriving logistics centre. It is now one of our most important rail cargo hubs in Europe, enabling us to deliver automotive components to leading OEMs in various Central European countries. With the addition of a third warehouse hall, we are continuing our success story with yet another prime logistics location in Dunajská Streda. The expansion will be managed by the Central Eastern European logistics real estate specialist ATL.”

Focus on warehousing and logistics

The cargo-partner iLogistics Centre in Dunajská Streda currently has a capacity of 27,600 pallet spaces on 18,200 m², with over 11,000 m² dedicated to customs bonded warehouse space. Based on years of experience in handling automotive and industrial components, high-tech machinery as well as oversized cargo and project shipments, the cargo-partner team provides a range of value-added services for various industries. In addition to the warehouse in Dunajská Streda, cargo-partner also operates a second warehouse in Bratislava with a capacity of 14,000 pallet spaces on 8,200 m².

Automated DC for Slovakian 3PL

Posted on 4 February, 202225 July, 2025 by David Priestman

The new warehouse of isklad in Senec, Slovakia, will be equipped with a high-performance Micro-Fulfillment-Center (RSX1-Micro) from ROCKETSOLUTION GmbH. The RSX1 system from ROCKETSOLUTION integrates the complete material flow from goods receipt and storage to picking and packing.

The high-density RSX1-Micro System maximises the use of the available space, creating many times the previously existing storage capacity. The system performance, which is tailored to the order volume and the business processes, will enable isklad to process its order faster and more efficiently. Isklad can now easily manage its rapid growth in business due to the flexible scalability of the RSX1-Micro.

The new automated warehouse for isklad is one of the first systems implemented by ROCKETSOLUTION in the market, making this installation an important milestone in the company’s history.

isklad is a fast-growing and globally active Third Party Logistics (3PL) Provider offering a complete logistics solution for all categories of e-shops (small or large, with or without warehouse). This is a modern and efficient way to provide warehousing services and to offer order preparation and delivery of shipments directly to e-shop customers in the shortest possible time and at the lowest possible cost.

The transport and warehousing services offered are complemented by isklad’s proprietary, transparent and intuitive online software (EGON). EGON acts as an extension of existing online shops so that data on orders, products, stock levels and costs can be tracked at all times.

“Our customers rely on reliable, fast and uncomplicated order processing. To ensure that we can continue to provide this in the future, we automate our previously manual warehouse,” says Martin Mitošinka, CEO of isklad.

“With Rocket Solution, we can not only improve the use of our shop floor, but also make our work processes much more efficient. The integration of the RSX1 enables us to continue to operate as a reliable logistics service provider worldwide as well as to achieve our growth targets.”

The RSX1 automated small parts storage system for totes and trays is based on an innovative shuttle technology. The system consists of the following four main components:

RS-Rack
RS-Shuttle
RS-Lift
RS-Software

The RS-Shuttles within the storage levels handle the totes using an innovative load handling device with an integrated lifting technology. The compact system is characterised by maximum storage density, enormous robustness, as well as simple integration capability, whereby the latter refers to material flow systems and IoT as well as to the building structure. This enables reliable system availability and fast, uncomplicated system integration and implementation. The innovative RSX1 significantly improves space efficiency compared to conventional automated systems.

isklad offers fulfilment services for a steadily increasing number of suppliers from a wide range of industries. This is reflected in the variety of goods to be stored and handled. Multiple tote heights can be stored within the RSX1, allowing the system to be optimised to the inventory. Unused space in the warehouse is thus further reduced.

The two-aisle system for isklad offers 33,800 storage locations and is designed for a performance of 2,000 double cycle per hour. Workstations at the front of the aisles are used to repack the goods into automatically provided empty totes of different heights. The workstations for highly dynamic picking and the following packing stations are located on the rear end of the aisle.

The RSX1-Micro can easily be extended by adding new aisles to add more capacity and performance to the system. This scalability is important for the 3PL Provider isklad as the integration of new customers is a core component of their future growth and the successful management of peak seasons a basic requirement of this business model.

“The RSX1 technology integrates perfectly with our existing business processes and optimises them as well. By investing in the flexible RSX1 system, we can meet our increased requirements and expand the system at any time in the future,” Mitošinka continues.

Slovakia: at the heart of Europe

Posted on 15 October, 20217 August, 2025 by David Priestman

At the recent World of Freight Expo in Bratislava, Slovakia, Logistics Business met with Zulf Hyatt-Khan, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Slovak Exporters. We spoke to the Briton about his role, his passion for Slovakian trade, and how he is helping exporters from the country to expand their horizons.

LB: Please tell us what point of difference the council provides to its members?

ZH-K: We go back to April 2020 when our Chairman, Lukáš Parízek, founded the Council of Slovak exporters. He saw that there was a huge gap for exporters during the pandemic – problems with freight, with logistics, with cargo getting through into other countries. Manpower was down, automation systems started to fail, and there needed to be an interlocuter, so he decided to take on the mantle of creating a hub whereby all export-related topics could be centralised, whether that’s information, news, interlocution with embassies, with customs, with logistics, with freight carriers… All those disparate elements could be housed under one roof.

As a member association, we respond to the demands and the needs of our members. Apart from our strategic partners, all of them are exporters and they had these queries which we are able to help them with. Lukáš is a former Foreign State Secretary, so he had a very good relationship with state institutions and embassies. We have a particularly close relationship with most of the ambassadors here in Slovakia. That provides a unique point of difference, because we are able to communicate on behalf of our members just to make sure that their issues are dealt with.

LB: Why should businesses come to you? What benefits do you bring to the table?

ZH-K: Slovakia has a lot of potential, but [our members have been] previously over reliant on a relationship with the EU and with Germany specifically. Their aspirations to take their products into a larger market have yet to be fulfilled. So they come to us, they see an international organisation representing Slovakia’s best interests, and we make sure they have the opportunity. For example, we facilitated 15 of our members going to Dubai Expo 2020. We are opening up channels for gateways to China, with Hong Kong Investment… We are doing deals with various international institutions, which didn’t really exist here, to safeguard the interests of our members in these foreign environments.

Also, there’s an element of teaching. We’re not there to patronise our members, but we try to tell them that there’s an opportunity to internationalise their products which also didn’t traditionally exist. It’s a learning curve for us as it is for them as well.

LB: What are the specific strengths of the Council?

ZH-K: We pride ourselves on a number of elements. Firstly, we conduct our own academic research. We’ve recently commissioned a non-government export analysis which was a complete drill down into the minutiae of Slovakia’s export potential and its five-year history. We did that here with the University of Economics in Bratislava (EUBA). We’ve also recently published ‘How to do Business in the UAE’ in line with that Dubai Expo participation.

The other thing is, we’re here to help promote our members’ interests abroad, essentially, without being partisan. We are a non-government member association, so we don’t promote any one company, but at the same time we view the collective as stronger together.

Added to that, we do podcasts with our private sector CEOs and Champions, we have an international podcast that we host with ambassadors and international luminaries, so that our members can understand what it is like going into new territories. Whether they are looking to go into Kazakhstan or the United States, we speak to those honorary consuls, we speak to those ambassadors and they paint an investment picture.

We see that as a two-way benefit; every time a Slovak business wants to go into a new market, then trade will come back the other way. Export is a two-way road – it means export for someone and import for someone else. We see those relationships as critical for our members.

LB: Can we talk about Brexit – what is your opinion?

ZH-K: There was a line drawn in the sand – either you were in the camp on one side or camped on the other. I think the media frenzy that surrounded it exacerbated a lot of peoples’ sentiments. On one side, I’d like to say I’m a big believer in the European project, but on the other side I see the advantages to the UK of being able to negotiate its trade deals without… it’s a bit harsh to say the ‘handcuffs of the EU’, but some of the restrictions and regulations that were imposed.

What I don’t approve was the manner in which it was thrust upon the UK public and how divisive it was for everyone. I think it will normalise; my parents always say “Britain is a plucky island and will just plod on”. I think that’s pretty much the focus. We see today there’s no petrol in the cars, there’s a lack of lorry drivers. It’s certainly not fluid, it’s certainly not smooth and the transition will be ugly, but eventually it will regularise and normalise.

LB: Bratislava is a great city in a great location, but just over the border is Vienna. What does it mean to your members and how you can help them.

ZH-K: It’s a bit of doubler-edge sword, really, to be honest. The centrality of Vienna, Budapest and Prague has often left Bratislava a little bit behind. Also in terms of infrastructure and investment potential. Has it maximised its potential? I’m hosting a panel [at World of Freight Expo] with the CEO of Bratislava Airport who no doubt will give us some insight into just how much volume is going through those airports, but at the same time the interconnectivity through the Danube and through the region has huge advantages for road freight and, potentially, train freight.

But in terms of airports, traditionally it has been hampered, and we’d like to see with a little bit of investment and a little bit more ambitious infrastructure that Bratislava becomes more competitive amongst its nearby cousins.

Logistics Business (LB): We can’t help noticing you have a perfect British accent – how did you end up here in Bratislava?

Zulh Hyatt-Khan (ZH-K): You’re not the first person to say that to me this week. Yes, I am from the UK, and having spent some time travelling the world I was most recently in the Middle East. I married a Slovak lady and moved here to Slovakia.

It wasn’t always on my agenda to move to central Europe; however, I saw the potential of central Europe and Slovakia in itself to develop through its private sector and through its export, and that’s why I’ve settled here.

LB: Thank you very much, Zulf, for speaking with us today.

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