HARTING opens new European Distribution Centre

HARTING Technology Group has opened its state-of-the-art European Distribution Centre (EDC) in Espelkamp.

Up to 20,000 order items will be processed every day, with goods dispatched to customers on the day of order.

The European logistics centre is the largest single investment in the 74-year history of HARTING, costing an estimated €45 million (approximately £41 million).

Around 10,000 packages can be shipped to customers and branches around the world every single day and the 20-metre-high shelf warehouse can accommodate approximately 7,000 pallets and 120,000 containers.

A total of 2,000 containers can be taken in and out of the warehouse every hour.

The company says technical highlights include the highly-automated picking system and the storage area, which is optimally managed and efficiently utilised according to the respective order load and capacity.

The company also put emphasis on generating a sustainable energy supply. The power for the European Distribution Centre is supplied by a photovoltaic system installed on the roof, while the energy requirements for cooling and heating are covered by internally produced biomethane and a geothermal plant.

The implemented energy supply minimises Co2 emissions and the cost of the entire centre came in 27 percent lower than the figure originally calculated by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).