European Distribution Center Central goes into operation

Investment volume of around 110 million euros, increased customer focus

Bavaria’s state prime minister Dr. Markus Söder recognizes the Schaeffler Group’s commitment in Lower Franconia

The Schaeffler Group has inaugurated its new European Distribution Center (EDC) Central in Kitzingen (Germany). Products from Schaeffler’s Industrial division are shipped for the European market from Kitzingen. During the official opening ceremony of the central warehouse, Georg F. W. Schaeffler, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Schaeffler AG said: “This new logistics center at our new Kitzingen location is a further milestone in the implementation of our strategy ‘Mobility for tomorrow’. At the same time, we regard the new EDC Central as a commitment to the Franconian region, to Bavaria and to Germany as a location.” Schaeffler has invested around 110 million euros in the construction of the new location in Lower Franconia. Approximately 100 employees currently work in Kitzingen, but that number will increase to around 200 by the middle of next year.

With its conveniently located position in the center of Europe, Schaeffler’s new central warehouse in Kitzingen is the central point of Schaeffler’s European warehouse network. Until now, the network of European distribution centers (EDC) has comprised a warehouse for Northern Europe in Arlandastad, Sweden and a warehouse for Southern Europe in Carisio, Italy.

In addition to the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Middle Franconia and the new location in Kitzingen, Lower Franconia, the globally active automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler is present at ten further locations in Bavaria. The Bavarian State Prime Minister Dr. Markus Söder, who attended the inauguration of the EDC Central as honorary guest, said: “Kitzingen is now the center of Schaeffler’s European logistics system. This is a huge investment for Schaeffler AG and an excellent development for Lower Franconia as a location and Bavaria as a whole!”

The realignment of Schaeffler’s logistics system with the European distribution network is part of an initiative in the future-oriented program “Agenda 4 plus One”, which will make Schaeffler more flexible, faster, and bolder, as Klaus Rosenfeld, CEO of Schaeffler AG explains: “The main objective of our investment in Kitzingen is to make the entire global supply chain, from our suppliers and our production network through to our customers, more cost-effective, faster and more flexible. This means that the new EDC Central will help directly to improve our ability to supply and ensure the future competitiveness of the Schaeffler Group.”

With the European distribution network, Schaeffler wants to increase the market supply, delivery reliability, and delivery performance and thus increase customer satisfaction even further. As a result, Schaeffler’s standard products can be delivered to customers in Europe from the EDC Central within 24 to 48 hours after receipt of the order. In addition, a customer order can be accepted and dispatched as little as two hours before the delivery trucks leave the site. Furthermore, Schaeffler is able to ensure special customer requirements such as the shipment of goods in containers or the customer’s own packaging, for example. Special sorting processes and marking with recipient-specific labels are also possible.

The ground-breaking ceremony for the EDC Central took place at the 148,000 square meter site in the conneKT-Technologiepark in Kitzingen in October 2016. The development comprises a 38.5-meter-high high bay storage warehouse with 28,000 Euro pallet storage spaces and an automated container warehouse with almost 95,000 storage spaces. These loading aids are transported using an electrified floor track system and state-of-the-art conveying technology with a length of more than 2,000 meters. Up to 85 trucks can be loaded and unloaded daily on 20 ramps. With a base area of around 17,000 square meters, the logistics area has a usable hall space of around 25,000 square meters in the warehouse, which is partly on two floors.