Rhenus Cuxport is expanding its existing area by around a third and developing another terminal at the rear of the port. The infrastructure for additional import space is being created there on around 11 hectares and, with 4,500 parking spaces, there is room for temporary storage in automobile handling. Thanks to its suitability for heavy loads, the area is also of interest to sectors such as the onshore and offshore wind industry. The site is connected to the terminal areas close to the pier via a short drive.

Rhenus Cuxport acquired the space with foresight and thus prepared itself at an early stage for a demand that is becoming increasingly clear today: Automobile manufacturers and OEMs in Asia are recording continuous growth; China alone exported almost two million finished vehicles worldwide in the first half of 2023. One of the destinations is Europe, so Germany is also changing from an export to an import market. This is resulting in an increasing demand for automobile handling at the German and European seaports. "By strategically adapting to this change in the market, Rhenus is giving the Cuxhaven site an increasingly important hub function in Rhenus' European port network thanks to its ideal conditions, especially for the automotive market," explains Michael de Reese, Managing Director of Rhenus Ports. He adds: "Thanks to our favorable location between Central and Northern Europe, we can optimally serve the growing demand and increasing volumes from Asia and other markets worldwide. We are thinking strategically about the future with the expansion in the hinterland."

The vehicles arrive and leave Cuxhaven by ro-ro ship, in closed or flat-rack containers. As a multi-purpose terminal, Rhe- nus Cuxport performs all intermediate steps from unloading and loading ships to stripping containers and intermediate buffering for further distribution. The new compound supports this as a supplementary area and scores points with its location in the port hinterland with direct access to the A 27 highway to Bremen and the B 73 federal highway to Hamburg.

Following the start of construction in April, the next construction phases will involve laying asphalt on the new surface and building the superstructure. Rhenus Cuxport expects the compound to be completed by the end of September. "The expansion of our site fits in perfectly with the ever-increasing demand in the automotive logistics market. The expanded capacities will enable us to offer OEMs security and predictability in handling finished vehicles and therefore significant advantages for imports," says Claudius Schumacher, Managing Director at Rhenus Cuxport. Rhenus Cuxport is also planning to grow from the current six to nine berths in the long term - and this will once again strengthen its position as a central hub in Europe. The multipurpose terminal, which is majority-owned by the Rhenus Group, has been handling automobiles, general and heavy cargo and containers for more than 25 years.

Rhenus Group expands its network of road transport sites

The Rhenus Group is expanding its network of locations in Germany for national and international road transportation by extending two sites. While a completely new logistics facility with state-of-the-art storage, handling and office space is being built in Nuremberg, Rhenus is extensively expanding the existing logistics facility at the Dietzenbach site in order to meet the growing demand for storage and handling space. A new logistics facility with a handling and storage hall is being built in Nuremberg on an area of just under 17,000 square meters. As the new building is adjacent to Rhenus Warehousing Solutions' existing high-bay warehouse, customers will benefit from the optimum integration of various processes in future: This is because, in addition to the short-term interim storage of goods from transportation, products from longer-term storage in the high-bay warehouse can also be prepared quickly and easily for road transport. A total of almost 25,000 square meters of logistics space will be available across all divisions after completion. General contractor Max Bögl, based in Nuremberg, is responsible for the construction of the new facility.

The Dietzenbach site is also being significantly expanded. New here: Both hazardous substances and pharmaceutical products with special temperature requirements can be stored here. The goods from customers in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries are subject to a wide range of legal regulations regarding storage, all of which apply in the new logistics hall in Dietzenbach. Rhenus is working with the general contractor Köster in Dietzenbach.

"We are delighted to be able to meet the growing demand from our customers in the economic regions of Frankfurt and Nuremberg. We're expanding our handling areas in Dietzenbach alone by around 50 percent and we're doubling our current cross dock in Nuremberg in order to strengthen our presence, particularly in the Euronational general cargo transport sector," explains Nenad Lukic, Managing Director of Rhenus Road Freight. Rhenus attaches great importance to the issue of sustainability during the expansion and new construction work. For example, a green roof will be installed in Dietzenbach and a large proportion of the building materials from the old building from the 1970s, which was demolished, will be reused in Nuremberg. Both locations will also be equipped with a photovoltaic system, recycle rainwater and are already being built or converted in accordance with the German Building Energy Act (GEG) 40 instead of the currently prescribed GEG 55. The employees will also benefit: A new and modern working environment with open spaces, ideas workshops and feel-good areas is being created for them. The two facilities in Nuremberg and Dietzenbach are expected to be completed in spring 2024.