New Empty Container Depot in Mannheim goes into operation

By the middle of September the new empty container depot of Contargo Rhein-Neckar GmbH in Mannheim was ready to go into operation. It is spacious and enables containers to be processed faster.

The new Empty Container Terminal can accommodate up to 4,000 TEU and has an area of 25,000 sqm. It is already planned to extend the depot in 2016 by an additional 4,800 sqm, by integrating a directly adjoining plot. In the next few months a new lightweight construction hall for container maintenance and repairs will be built, and three social and office container units will be installed. A combined washing and refuelling facility will also be constructed.

The new depot has an especially energy-conscious design: the Empty Container Terminal is the first Contargo operating site to be illuminated entirely by energy-saving LED technology. Light is provided by LED spots mounted on four 25-metre masts, and the social and office premises are also equipped with LED.

“The advantage of the new Empty Container Terminal is that it unites empty container depot, container repair and container cleaning facilities on one site”, Project Leader Georg Lochner explains. “In future, only the terminal itself, with the cranes, will be situated on one side of the harbour basin and the new empty container depot on the other. There will not be any other external sites any more.”

Fast checking-in and checking-out

Unlike the previous empty container depot, the present site is surfaced with asphalt and thus provides much better conditions both for depot staff and truck drivers, since no dust or dirt is generated.

On the new site there is also a better arrangement of container slots and access lanes, so that the FIFO principle (first in – first out) can be implemented more effectively. “The new Empty Container Terminal offer customers smooth, seamless handling and faster processing of trucks, with shorter waiting times”, says Georg Lochner. “Truckers can use the automatic check-in and check-out points when entering and leaving the site.”

The terminal operated by Contargo Rhein-Neckar GmbH on the other side of the port basin is also undergoing expansion at present. The port authority Rhein-Neckar Hafengesellschaft Mannheim (HGM) is extending the terminal by 400 m, thus enlarging its area by an additional 20,000 sqm. Two new gantry cranes are to be installed, and for this purpose the crane track will have to be extended. More rail and barge handling capacities, and “parking space” for 1,400 containers, will also be added. Commissioning of the extended site is scheduled for the beginning of 2017.