Business lease agreement signed

Press Release 31 Aug 2023

Operator of Straubing-Sand Container Terminal is decided

A bidding consortium composed of container hinterland logistics network Contargo, SFI GmbH and the Ziegler Group has been successful in a Europe-wide call for tender for operation of the new bimodal container terminal in Straubing-Sand. On 30 August the bidders’ newly-founded joint enterprise, Contargo Combitrac Straubing-Sand GmbH, signed the business lease agreement for the terminal. The contract for terminal operation is expected to run from the second quarter of 2025.

The facility will be constructed by Port Straubing-Sand on an area of approximately 50,000 square metres. The construction phase has already begun; building completion and commencement of operation are planned for the second quarter of 2025. In future, up to ten trains per week will call at the new terminal. Goods for transport, primarily containers, will then be transhipped, i.e. lifted from road to rail by mobile handling equipment. Up to twenty jobs will be created at the location.

“Thanks to the companies that have settled here and our core themes, Port Straubing-Sand has been among the sustainability pioneers for many years now”, says Andreas Löffert, Managing Director of Hafen Straubing-Sand GmbH. “For us, building a combined transport terminal facility was a logical consequence in harmony with our sustainability goals, because CT terminals of this kind take goods transports off the roads and onto rail. This contributes to climate protection and relieves traffic on the highways.”

“Taking containers off the roads and onto rail cuts CO₂ emissions generated by transport by 80 percent”, says Markus Schmid, Managing Director of SFI GmbH. “We have many years’ experience with combined transport, thus with very environmentally friendly transports. State-of-the-art equipment is always used. In the future, trucks with alternative drives can also play a role in the container’s last mile between the CT terminal and the loading or unloading point.”

The efficient and modern CT facility will enhance the attractiveness of the Lower Bavaria and Upper Palatinate region for firms planning to settle. In the bidding consortium’s opinion logistics enterprises especially, but also the production industry, appreciate the advantages of such terminals; at a time when there is a growing shortage of truck drivers, CT terminals provide more reliability in transport while also reducing transport costs.

“The location in the port of Straubing-Sand makes the rail connection very interesting”, says Andreas Sandner, Managing Director of Ziegler Holding GmbH. “Goods produced outside Germany find their way into local commerce via the seaports. Our aim is to network the region not only with the big seaports in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, but also with the ports on the Adriatic. This will give shippers more flexibility.”

In times of driver shortage and disrupted supply chains, the focus on transport flexibility is getting continually stronger. Thus the Straubing-Sand location will offer space for the storage of up to 1,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units, 20ft containers) and expansion would even be possible into adjacent areas. The possibility of interim storage for goods is significant, because seasonal goods are often delivered in advance. If the capacities of the location do not suffice, Contargo can provide support with its 24 terminals.

“With this new location we are not only enlarging our network in Bavaria, we are also meeting the demand for neutral container services in this region”, says Thomas Löffler, Managing Director Contargo GmbH & Co. KG. “Today we already have several inquiries from customers that we are not able to service at present. This location will create new jobs, capacities and new possibilities from which the whole region will benefit.”

Port Straubing-Sand is an established location where various logistics enterprises have settled over the past years due to its favourable position with access to inland waterways, motorways and rail network. Bio-based industry also finds good conditions in Port Straubing-Sand, including a technology and start-up centre, a multipurpose demonstration facility for industrial biotechnology, and non-university research institutes. Altogether 3,600 people are employed by the enterprises located ín the in the Port.

Photo (from l. to r.): Gerhard Schönbucher, Head of Property, Planning and Technics, Hafen Straubing-Sand GmbH, Benedikt Rupp, Head of Network Development, Contargo GmbH & Co.KG, Jörg Schubert, Managing Director Contargo Combitrac Straubing-Sand GmbH, Andreas Sandner, Managing Director Ziegler Holding GmbH, Markus Schmid, Managing Director SFI GmbH, Thomas Löffler, Managing Director Contargo GmbH & Co.KG, Andreas Löffert, Managing Director Hafen Straubing-Sand GmbH (© Contargo)

About Contargo

With an annual transport volume of 2.1 million TEU, Contargo is one of the largest container logistics networks in Europe. Contargo integrates container transport between the western seaports, the German North Sea ports and the European hinterland. Contargo has 24 container terminals at its disposal in Germany, France and Switzerland and additional locations in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland. The enterprise also operates its own barge and rail lines. In 2022 the workforce of more than 1,200 employees achieved a turnover of 711 million Euro. www.contargo.net

About SFI

SFI GmbH functions as a holding for various operative enterprises that include Schmid Transport und Spedition GmbH. Schmid Transport und Spedition is active in sea container logistics at three locations in Bavaria. Pre-carriage and on-carriage to and from the terminals is always by environmentally friendly vehicles. Planning and execution are performed by expert personnel. Altogether about 160,000 TEU annually are transported in combined transport by truck/rail, substantially relieving long-distance traffic on the roads. In 2022 a turnover of approximately 25 million Euro was generated by 180 employees. More information at www.sfi.group.

About Ziegler

The ZIEGLER GROUP is a globally-active group of enterprises with 33 locations in Europe, engaged in the areas of wood, house construction, logistics, technology, trade, decoration and gastronomy. Within this framework the ZIEGLER GROUP offers comprehensive logistics services that cover all the steps of a closed logistics chain, including the seamless import and export of goods by land, sea and air. For this purpose, Ziegler maintains locations in Hamburg, Nürnberg and Wiesau. As well as a fleet of 230 truck providing LTL and FTL, break bulk, bulk material and dangerous goods transports, two bimodal container terminals are operated at Wiesau and Hof as well as a logistics centre with a storage area of 20,000 square metres. The ZIEGLER GROUP offers its customers a broad range of logistics services, enabling the Group to respond to the individual needs and requirements of its customers while ensuring maximum quality and efficiency. More information about the ZIEGLER GROUP can be found on the Group’s website at www.ziegler.global

About Port Straubing-Sand

The port of Straubing-Sand, with a total area of 220 hectares, is a trimodal industry and logistics location developed in intercommunal cooperation between the town of Straubing, the district of Straubing-Bogen and the municipality of Aiterhofen. With an annual handling volume of around 4 million tonnes, Straubing-Sand is Lower Bavaria’s major freight traffic centre. The location also attracts interest with its Technology and Start-up Centre (TGZ) on the BioCampus. In view of the consistently good occupancy, there are concrete plans to enlarge the TGZ for which the State of Bavaria intends to provide funding. This, in combination with the planned biotechnological multipurpose demonstration plant “BioCampus MultiPilot” and the start-up competition “PlanB – Biobased.Business.Bavaria.” makes Port Straubing-Sand a bioeconomy flagship with an infrastructure that is unique of its kind in Germany. www.hafen-straubing.de