(Schortens, November 6, 2023) Exactly one year ago, NORDFROST broke ground for the 6th construction phase at its seaport terminal in the container port of Wilhelmshaven. The new facilities with a volume of around 15 million euros have now been successfully completed on the 33-hectare site. They were officially inaugurated and put into operation at the traditional reception, to which the family-owned company invites guests every year on November 6 to commemorate the birthday of company founder Horst Bartels.

Around 200 guests, including long-time companions, personalities from politics, business and administration, representatives of shipping companies and shippers as well as neighbors from the GVZ celebrated the official opening of the new drying hall at the NORDFROST seaport terminal. Dr Falk Bartels and Britta Bartels, the second generation of NORDFROST's management, gave a traditional overview of the company's current development with a focus on progress in the areas of port logistics, digitalization, automation and sustainability.

In his welcoming address, the Mayor of Wilhelmshaven, Carsten Feist, recalled Horst Bartels, the visionary founder of NORDFROST, who never knew the word crisis, but always worked to turn his ideas into reality.

Guest speaker Jan Müller, President of the Oldenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce, emphasized that the investments made by NORDFROST at the Wilhelmshaven site contribute to the efficiency, sustainability and profitability of the supply chains that use the container port of Wilhelmshaven. The advantages of Wilhelmshaven apply in particular to the overseas logistics of companies in the entire chamber district, which can optimize their logistics chains thanks to the geographical proximity.

The NORDFROST seaport terminal directly on the quayside offers covered storage areas in all temperature ranges for food, non-food and pharmaceuticals, as well as a heavy goods warehouse with seaworthy packaging for the mechanical engineering and renewable energy sectors. This offering is supplemented by container-related services such as the organization of sea freight, container trucking with import and export handling and the operation of a container depot. The latter has now been significantly expanded with the new space.

The new container depot areas, which have been open since September 2023 and are also used as outdoor areas for project logistics, are divided into two areas. The first area of around 1.5 ha is located in front of the terminal coming from the highway and is intended to serve as an empty container depot in the future. Numerous power connections, so-called reefer plugs, are available for the temporary storage of loaded reefer containers that are delivered ahead of time for shipping, for example.
Die 2 ha große Depotfläche, die mit einer Werkshalle für Services wie Containerreparatur, PTI-Prüfung und CSC-Check ausgestattet ist, erstreckt sich entlang der Bahnlinie, die auf dem nördlichen Teil des Betriebsgrundstücks verläuft. Damit stehen nun alle Ab-schnitte der insgesamt 2 km langen Bahnanlage des Betriebes für die Be- und Entladung von Bahnwaggons zur Verfügung.

The new 10,000 m² drying hall adjoins this depot area. Together with the existing heavy goods hall, it forms an ensemble for project logistics and is intended for the storage of machines, plant components, furniture or big bags. The high-quality hall has a deep courtyard with 8 gates at ramp height and can also be accessed by trucks via three additional gates. The 15 m high hall is designed for floor area loads of up to 5 t/sqm. The entire roof is already prepared to accommodate PV modules with an output of 1,200 kWp.

The construction work around the drying hall was carried out by general contractor Goldbeck. This included regional contractors for the individual trades. The depot area in front of the terminal was constructed by Matthäi using heavy-duty equipment. "All the construction work went smoothly and we are delighted with the new facilities, which we urgently need to handle our growing customer projects," emphasized Britta Bartels. "Around five hectares of the 33 hectares of space that we have directly in the container port of Wilhelmshaven are still undeveloped. In the next step, we will also develop these in line with demand," added Dr. Falk Bartels.