The kick-off for an XXL construction project: Gelsenkirchen’s mayor, Frank Baranowski, and the managing directors of the bilstein group, Jan Siekermann and Karsten Schüßler-Bilstein, announced yesterday, Wednesday, November 27th, 2019, the commencement of construction work on the new logistics centre for the Ennepetal-based company and jointly sank a time capsule. In 2017, the bilstein group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of replacement parts for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, acquired an approximately 200,000 square metre site in the Bulmke-Hüllen district – on the site of the former Schalker Verein.
A building covering an area of approximately 45,000 square meters is now being constructed with a logistics system at its heart which is largely automated. In the future, wear parts will be shipped all over the world from here. Preparations are currently underway for the installation of the floor slabs towards the end of this year. For this, roughly 1,300 reinforced concrete piles have to be sunk up to ten meters deep into the ground.
Ideal Expansion Opportunities
“We are pleased that the work has now begun. The area in Gelsenkirchen offers us ideal opportunities for expansion – now and in the future, because we have the opportunity to significantly expand the currently planned building,” says Group Managing Director, Jan Siekermann. In total, the bilstein group is investing more than 100 million euros in the new location. Completion is scheduled for mid-2022.
Around 160 jobs subject to social insurance contributions will be created when the plant goes into operation. At full capacity, this figure could move in the direction of 400. “This makes the settlement of the bilstein group one of the largest new developments in Gelsenkirchen in recent years. A new chapter is being written here in the Schalker Verein industrial park and will bring us another piece of future development,” said the delighted mayor, Frank Baranowski, at the start of construction.
Going Green
The logistics centre will be built according to the KfW55 standard. This means that 45 percent less energy is consumed than in a comparable new building without additional efficiency measures. This is extremely rare in the industrial sector. The bilstein group also focuses on energy efficiency in other areas: a large photovoltaic system is planned, supplemented by around 15,000 square metres of green roofs. In addition, heat is to be supplied by district heating.
Strong Partners
The company BMS Industriebau GmbH from Brilon in the Sauerland region of Germany is responsible for the construction of the logistics centre based on designs by the Ennepetal architecture firm, Frey + Frey Architekten. “We congratulate the bilstein group and the city of Gelsenkirchen on the construction of the new logistics centre. The construction of this property is not an everyday challenge for us either,” stresses Ferdinand Nolte, Managing Partner of BMS.
The Upper Palatinate company, IGZ Automation GmbH, was commissioned with the logistics planning. “During the project planning of the logistics centre, we were able to contribute our entire experience and competence with innovative ideas to the project,” says Alfred Meyer, Managing Director of IGZ. “With the use of the SAP standard software EWM – Extended Warehouse Management – as warehouse management and material flow software, the bilstein group is optimally prepared for the future requirements of a logistics 4.0.”
