Logistics – a growth story made in the Niederrhein region

The Niederrhein region comprises the cities of Krefeld and Mönchengladbach as well as the districts of Kleve, Viersen, Wesel and Rhein-Kreis Neuss. Nearly two million people live here. The approximately 100,000 companies based here employ 560,000 people, of whom 63,000 work in the logistics industry. This means that more than eleven per cent of all people employed in the region work for industrial and commercial logistics departments or for specialized logistics service providers.

The Niederrhein region is located in a multimillion market: 16 million consumers can be reached within a radius of 100 kilometres and even 40 per cent of the EU population can be reached within one day by lorry. The Niederrhein region is bordered to the east by the Ruhr Region and Düsseldorf – the regional capital of North-Rhine Westphalia; it is bordered to the south by the Cologne/Bonn metropolitan region and the Benelux triangle around Aachen, and it is bordered to the west by the Netherlands. Everything is closely interconnected via railway and motorway networks.

The Niederrhein region also effectively lies on the coast. From the North Sea, seaworthy coastal trading vessels can reach the seven Rhine ports situated in the Dutch cities. And via the motorways, the seaports at Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam are mostly less than 200 km away from the Niederrhein region.

The Niederrhein region has the world at its feet. Passengers and freight fly in and out via DUS (Düsseldorf International Airport) and CGN (Cologne/Bonn Airport), on Niederrhein soil from the two airports at Weeze and Mönchengladbach, as well as from the Schwarze Heide Airfield in Wesel District, which provides a flexible alternative for business travellers.

The region's unbeatable location is one of the reasons why logistics are so strong in the Niederrhein region. And because such a top location includes a professional sectoral environment and immediately available sites, logistics in the Niederrhein region have become an ongoing growth story: more than half of the top 20 logistics companies in Germany are now present in the Niederrhein region, UPS has relocated its German headquarters here and a diverse range of international companies have also established their main German and European logistics operations here. This is distribution logistics made in the Niederrhein region.

As an economic centre, the Niederrhein region is characterised by nine main industries: the agribusiness, chemicals, energy, electrical engineering, health, mechanical engineering, textiles and clothing, tourism and, of course, logistics. More than 50% of goods are exported. The companies here are creative, innovative and globally marketable.

A logistics area covering more than two million square metres is currently used in the Niederrhein region. The average usable space per site is around 15,000 m2. Around half the sites are operated by logistics service providers, while a further 19% are used by the retail trade. These are followed by the food (10%), automotive (7%) and chemical (5%) industries. Around 5 per cent of the modern logistics centres in Germany are now located in the Niederrhein region. Since 2008, the relocations made each year to the Niederrhein region have been, in terms of their size, among the top 5 projects in Germany.

Sectors such as the textiles and clothing industries as well as the chemical and food industries have encouraged the creation of special logistics companies. These have seamlessly integrated their services within the value chains of their clients. Such symbiotic relationships in the logistics industry have set a precedent nationwide.

Logistics in the Niederrhein region are integrated within closely woven industry networks comprising supplier industries, special service providers, educational facilities and initiatives. The networks promote the direct transfer of logistics expertise and ensure the high standard of training. These networks have also made the Niederrhein region one of the most important logistics clusters in North-Rhine Westphalia.

On the following pages we will show you in detail why logistics are so strong in the Niederrhein region. You will be introduced to an exemplary selection of logistics companies and networks, you can find out about the logistics infrastructure and, if you have any specific questions, you can get directly in touch with the logistics experts from the business development agencies and infrastructure service providers.

Welcome to the Niederrhein economic region!

The logistics mix in the Niederrhein region: Top logistics companies, industry specialists and major brands

Deutsche Post DHL, DB Mobility Logistics, Dachser, Rhenus, UPS, Arvato Logistics Services, Fiege Stiftung, General Logistics Services, BLG Logistics Group, Wincanton, TNT Express – more than half of the top twenty logistics companies in Germany are present in the Niederrhein region. United Parcel Service Deutschland (UPS), ranked sixth among the leading logistics companies, even has its headquarters in Neuss with 1,300 employees.

Other top 100 logistics companies with turnovers exceeding 100 million euros are also based in the Niederrhein region, including Rinnen (Moers), NEUFRA Speditionsgesellschaft (Neuss), Raben Logistics Germany (Mönchengladbach) and DSV Road (Willich).

Numerous national and international companies also operate their regional, national and international distribution centres from the Niederrhein region, including well-known brands such as ASICS (Neuss), Alberto (Mönchengladbach), ALDI (Mönchengladbach, Wesel District and Rhein-Kreis Neuss), Böhmer (Mönchengladbach), Bonita (Wesel District), Byk-Chemie (Wesel District), C&A (Mönchengladbach), Dr. Oetker (Wesel District), Cewe Color (Mönchengladbach), EDEKA (Wesel District), ESPRIT (Mönchengladbach), Fressnapf Tiernahrung (Krefeld), Gardeur (Mönchengladbach), Hewlett-Packard (Wesel District), Kaiser's Tengelmann (Viersen District), Kerrygold (Wesel District), Konica Minolta (Kleve District),
Krings Fruchtsaft/Refresco (Mönchengladbach), Legea (Rhein-Kreis Neuss), LIDL (Wesel District), Netto Marken-Discount (Krefeld), Norgren (Wesel District), Polo (Jüchen), Sappi (Wesel District), Siemes Schuhe (Mönchengladbach), Tokai (Mönchengladbach), Valensina (Mönchengladbach) and van Laack (Mönchengladbach).

At the end of 2011, Internet retailer Amazon is opening a logistics centre in Wesel District with more than 10,000 m² and 1,000 employees. As a region that can look back on a long tradition in textiles and clothing, Niederrhein region is today particularly strong in the textile logistics sector. Top logistics companies such as Logwin and Fiege – the latter operates the logistics centre for ESPRIT in Mönchengladbach – provide specialist services in the market that are precisely tailored to industry needs. Logwin, Vetten Textil Service and Ernst Schruff Spedition are responsible for distribution on behalf of C&A in Mönchengladbach.

Another traditional economic focus of the Niederrhein region is the chemical industry, whereby essential logistical services are particularly provided by the chemical parks at Dormagen (Rhein-Kreis Neuss) and Krefeld-Uerdingen.

The agribusiness industry has also left its unique mark on the Niederrhein region – in regard to the landscape, as an economic centre and as a logistics region. It has transformed the Niederrhein region into one of the main logistics centres for food and plants. The German-Dutch border area, which is the largest contiguous horticultural area in Europe, is accordingly home to Germany's largest and most important auctioneer for pot plants, cut flowers, fruit and vegetables: Landgard in Herongen. Other companies in the agribusiness logistics sector include beverage and frozen food specialists.

Vertical and horizontal knowledge transfer in Niederrhein's logistics cluster

With the growing global networking of complex value chains and the associated intensive deployment of information technology in industry and trade, logistics services are increasingly becoming an area of expertise for specialists. The internationally oriented universities in the Niederrhein region, one of the most important logistics clusters in North-Rhine Westphalia, are therefore providing correspondingly focussed, practice-oriented degree programmes to train young professionals for the logistics industry.

As part of an actively managed logistics initiative, numerous companies in the Niederrhein region also help to transfer and update expertise horizontally and vertically within the cluster. Both park operators and suppliers such as Vanderlande (Mönchengladbach) or Signode (Wesel District) are closely involved in the networks.

In addition, special logistics projects are also initiated and publicly funded in the Niederrhein region with the specific aim of further optimizing the network cooperation within the cluster.

The renaissance of inland ports

All forecasts point in the same direction: the volume of transported goods is set to considerably rise over the next few years. This is because the dynamism with which the international division of labour is driving forward global trade while ensuring shifts in goods movements seems to be continuing unabated.

No single means of transport in Germany is capable of handling this increased volume of goods on its own, whereby the rail and road networks are already reaching the limits of their capacity. Any expansion of the infrastructure will also have to take greater account of environmental concerns. The dramatic increase in the cost of fuel combined with additional toll costs on motorways are also encouraging a rethinking process.

More intelligent concepts will be needed to ensure that goods are also kept on the move in future. One sustainable solution is provided by the systematic use of trimodal inland ports. Here, waterways, rail lines and roads converge together in the ports and facilitate a needs-oriented distribution of containers along with dry and liquid bulk goods.

Projections have correspondingly calculated that the volume of goods transported by ship from the four ZARA North Sea ports (Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam) towards the Niederrhein region will almost double by 2030 to around 300 million tonnes (2007: 176 million tonnes).

The seven Rhine ports and the wharves in the two chemical parks at Krefeld-Uerdingen and Dormagen can be reached from the North Sea with ocean-going ships and are also directly connected to rail and road networks. Inland water vessels can also travel eastwards via the Wesel-Datteln-Canal. The Niederrhein region is therefore optimally prepared for handling trimodal logistics chains.

The renaissance of the inland ports in the Niederrhein region is also being fuelled by the fact that there are still free sites available in the proximity of the ports for realising progressive logistics concepts. The recent relocation of the ThyssenKrupp Steel service centre to an approximately 150,000 m2 site in Krefeld Port exemplifies this new distribution strategy of maintaining close proximity to navigable waterways.

Dense motorway network with five border crossings

For logistics, a dense and well-developed motorway network continues, as before, to provide the backbone for the transport infrastructure. In the Niederrhein region, 343 motorway kilometres connect the cities and municipalities with one another and link them to the neighbouring markets, whereby the motorways cross the German-Dutch border no less than five times from Niederrhein soil.

Three motorway routes serve the north-south axis: the A 3 (Arnheim-Cologne), A 57 (Nijmegen-Cologne, which is planned to be expanded to six lanes for almost the entire length) and the A 61 (Venlo-Koblenz). The A 31 (Emden-Ruhr region) crosses the eastern part of the Niederrhein region.

The following motorways link the Niederrhein region in an east-west direction: the A 40 (Venlo-Duisburg), A 42 (Kamp-Lintfort-Dortmund), A 52 (Roermond-Düsseldorf), A 44 (Mönchengladbach Airport-Düsseldorf International Airport-Ruhr region) and the A 44/46 (Aachen-Wuppertal).

The large business parks and logistics sites in the Niederrhein region mostly have direct motorway access or are only a short distance away. Numerous inland ports and further infrastructure facilities can be quickly reached via the motorways.

Rail transport

The main rail freight transport routes consist of the following lines: Mönchengladbach-Venlo-Rotterdam, Oberhausen-Emmerich-Nijmegen-Rotterdam and Duisburg-Mönchengladbach-Aachen-Antwerp. The Niederrhein region therefore has a well developed, dense rail network with an equally high volume of passenger traffic.

Particularly significant in terms of rail transport is the link to the Antwerp, Rotterdam and Amsterdam ports (ARA ports), whereby the expansion of the Dutch Betuwe route (Emmerich-Oberhausen) is particularly important for the region.

Private rail companies also ensure distribution as far as company sites on large industrial complexes and in port areas. Particular examples include Kreisbahn Wesel, the Neuss-Düsseldorf railway and the port and rail services provided by the City of Krefeld.

Worldwide connections from DUS and CGN

A further plus point in the Niederrhein region's logistics profile is its immediate proximity to two major German airports: Düsseldorf International (DUS) and Cologne-Bonn (CGN). In addition, the Niederrhein region also has its own two airports at Weeze and Mönchengladbach, which are both interesting as sites for logistics companies, as well as the Schwarze Heide airfield in Wesel District.

The air traffic for the Rhine-Ruhr region is concentrated at Düsseldorf International Airport. The dense national and European network of air routes served by DUS is being increasingly supplemented by more intercontinental direct flights. For the cargo sector, a 16,000 m² handling area and an approximately 23,600 m² airfreight centre are also available.

With a freight volume of 590,000 tonnes a year, Cologne/Bonn Airport is ranked second nationally. The ability to operate 24 hours a day provides considerable potential for growth, which the UPS and FedEX logistics companies have recognised and are already benefiting from. Cologne/Bonn is the only airport to offer not just the infrastructure for handling goods but also all necessary logistics services between the runway and warehouses.