05
August
2005
|
11:47
Europe/Berlin

Kuehne + Nagel subsidiary STUTE enlarges Airbus logistics centre

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is expanding in Hamburg. As a result, STUTE, a wholly owned subsidiary of the globally operating logistics group Kuehne + Nagel, has been contracted to extend the dedicated logistics centre it successfully brought into operation in July 2004.

"The assignment to expand the scope of services and enlarge the logistics centre underpins Airbus’ success as well as the reliable partnership with STUTE," explained Hergen Tönnies, project manager for the logistics provider. Paul Wilms, in charge of operations at the logistics centre in Hamburg, added, ”Airbus is currently reorganising and expanding production capacity at its Hamburg-Finkenwerder plant under the ‘Neue Fabrik’ project.”

Already while the logistics centre was going into operation last year, existing logistics space had to yield to new manufacturing halls in order to accommodate the increasing number of Airbus aircraft in production.

Airbus plans to relocate additional, currently decentralised production materials storage operations from its Finkenwerder premises to the logistics centre 11 kilometres down the road in Hamburg-Hausbruch for optimal logistics bundling.

As a result, STUTE has been contracted to enlarge the facility, and is now busy adding a new 8,500 sqm warehouse complex to the existing logistics centre. Upon completion, the company will be managing close to 30,000 sqm of warehouse space for Airbus in Hamburg.

"As with the logistics centre we completed in July 2004, the time frame for this follow-on project is highly demanding, for the extension has to be ready by March 2006,” said Hergen Tönnies.

In addition to enlarging the facility’s capacity, the project also entails the adaptation of the technical systems already installed in the logistics centre: two new order-picking workstations are to be added to the automated small parts warehouse and around 1,000 further slots are to be created in the pallet warehouse.

“This expansion will also necessitate changes in staffing patterns. In future, we will be operating three shifts instead of two and will be increasing our workforce in Hamburg-Hausbruch by around 20%," explained Paul Wilms.
marco.hamacher@stute.de