The new STIHL central warehouse in Voelklingen, Germany, has been officially opened. The logistics site was built by Dietz AG as the investor and is operated by Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. With the new building, the STIHL Group aims to not only increase its capacities, but also improve its logistical efficiency and speed. Battery products and all STIHL tools manufactured at the Tirol production site are stored at the new logistics and distribution location, from where they are delivered to all STIHL sales companies and STIHL dealers worldwide – mainly in Germany, France and the Benelux countries. In addition, products ordered directly from STIHL’s own online store are supplied from Voelklingen. While the first deliveries have already been handled from Voelklingen since August of this year, the warehouse will be fully operational from January 2023.
The STIHL central warehouse in Voelklingen has a total area of approximately 58,000 sq m, including around 3,000 sq m of mezzanine space and 1,600 sq m of office space. The facility is said to feature modern warehousing and picking technologies, such as smartwatches that display stock levels and instructions, replacing the classic hand-held scanner. Thanks to the combination of narrow-aisle, live storage and wide-aisle storage, the facility claimed to be optimally adapted to the goods being stored and enables maximum flexibility.
STIHL has said it will invest more than €150m in the central warehouse during the agreed contract period until 2032. For example, additional self-propelled picking equipment will be used as of next year. The 120,000 sq m site also offers the possibility to expand the warehouse area by 30,000 sq m as of 2025, so that STIHL is well prepared for oncoming rises in sales.
Source: Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
