Waiblingen/Osnabrück November 16, 2022 | Company press release
STIHL and Hellmann open new central warehouse in Völklingen, Germany
On November 14, 2022, the new STIHL central warehouse in Völklingen, Germany, was officially opened. The logistics facility was built by Dietz AG as the investor and is operated by Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. With the new building, the STIHL Group is not only increasing its capacities, but also improving its logistical efficiency and speed. Cordless products and all STIHL power tools manufactured at the STIHL Tirol production site are stored at the new logistics and distribution location; from there, they are delivered worldwide to all STIHL sales companies and STIHL dealers – mainly in Germany, France and the Benelux countries. In addition, products ordered directly from STIHL’s own online store are supplied from Völklingen. While the first deliveries have already been being handled from Völklingen since August of this year, the warehouse will be fully operational from January 2023.
Dr. Nikolas Stihl, Chair of the STIHL Advisory Board and Supervisory Board emphasized: “With the Völklingen central warehouse, we are not only eliminating existing and foreseeable capacity bottlenecks, but are also optimally positioning ourselves with a view to targeted growth, especially in the future field of batteries. After all, it is only possible to remain a market leader in our industry if speed and cost efficiency in logistics are also internationally competitive in the long term.”
STIHL Group’s largest logistics warehouse is operated by Hellmann Worldwide Logistics
The state-of-the-art STIHL central warehouse in Völklingen has a total area of approximately 58,000 m², including around 3,000 m² of mezzanine space and 1,600 m² of office space. The facility features advanced warehousing and picking technologies, such as smartwatches that display stock levels and instructions, rather than the traditional hand-held scanner. Thanks to a combination of narrow-aisle, flow-through and wide-aisle storage, the facility is optimally adapted to the goods being stored and enables maximum flexibility.
“With the new building, we are optimizing our processes from order handover to customer delivery. I am firmly convinced we will meet our customers’ high demands in the best possible way with this highly competitive logistics system,” reports Dr. Georg Miehler, Head of Sales Logistics at STIHL. The Austrian manufacturing site STIHL Tirol was also closely involved in the project. Dr. Clemens Schaller, Managing Director of STIHL Tirol, emphasizes: “We are delighted to be entrusted with the operational management of the new STIHL central warehouse, and to thereby make a significant contribution to the further growth of the STIHL Group.”
Central warehouse in Völklingen designed for further growth
STIHL will invest more than 150 million euros in the central warehouse during the agreed contract period up to 2032. For example, additional self-propelled picking equipment will come into use in the next year. The site, spanning a total of 120,000 m², also offers the possibility of expanding the warehouse area by 30,000 m² from 2025, meaning that STIHL is prepared for further sales increases.
“The inauguration of the STIHL central warehouse is a real milestone for all of us and we are very much looking forward to continuing to grow together in the coming years in the context of our strategic partnership with STIHL,” commented Volker Sauerborn, COO, Contract Logistics Hellmann Worldwide Logistics.
Sven Eisfeld, Managing Director Germany, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, adds: “With the new location in Völklingen, we are significantly expanding our presence in southwest Germany and in this way creating the conditions for further growth in the region. At the same time, I am very pleased that we have created more than 120 new jobs in the Germany-France-Luxembourg border triangle, with that number set to rise further in line with the planned volume growth in subsequent years.”
Völklingen’s Mayor Christiane Blatt is also pleased: “With Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, one of the world’s leading logistics companies, and the STIHL Group, two truly global players have decided on Völklingen as a location. For the city of Völklingen, organizations of this magnitude settling here is of strategic importance. It not only sustainably strengthens economic infrastructure, but also creates more than 120 jobs.”
