Communiqué de presse du 02/06/2021

Contargo takes over operations at the container terminal in the inland port of Weil am Rhein  

In a Europe-wide call for tender, Contargo GmbH & Co. KG has successfully secured the contract awarded by the Port of Weil am Rhein (Rheinhafengesellschaft) to take over as operator of the Container Terminal there. Handling activities at the container terminal will be taken over by Contargo Weil am Rhein GmbH from 1 August. This will enable the enterprise to expand its service offer in the region, and drive the development of the inland port together with the Rheinhafengesellschaft.

The whole port of Weil am Rhein, with its container terminal, is a hub and a performance centre for the trimodal link to industry in the southern Baden region. “Therefore we welcome the takeover by a partner as strong as Contargo”, Carlos Gingado, Managing Director of Rheinhafengesellschaft Weil am Rhein mbH, emphasises. "By reason of its public mandate, until now the Rheinhafengesellschaft only offered handling services on the market at the Container Terminal Weil am Rhein, not comprehensive logistics services. Handling alone did not enable economic growth or the expansion of the container terminal. The Rheinhafengesellschaft, the customers of the container terminal and the whole port of Weil am Rhein will benefit from the extensive logistics network of Contargo”, Gingado says.

Expansion of the service offer

“For years now, Contargo Weil am Rhein GmbH has organised comprehensive container logistics via barge and rail for customers in the south Baden area. As a major long-standing customer at the Weil am Rhein Container Terminal, taking part in the call for tender was a logical step for the future development of Contargo, with a view to expanding the integrated service offer and engaging in cooperation with the Port of Weil am Rhein”, says Holger Bochow, Managing Director of Contargo in Weil am Rhein, Basel and Alsace.

Over the last four years the port company has prepared for this step by investing in the infrastructure, and will continue along this development path for the Container Terminal together with Contargo. In addition, the Rheinhafengesellschaft will concentrate more intensively in future on developing the port. This includes further development of the bulk goods port, infrastructure development, and work with associations at a regional and federal level. This is consistent with the economically and ecologically based management of public property at an inland port.

Optimising limited handling and space resources

For Contargo, leasing the container terminal also creates synergies and chances for optimisation of the currently limited handling and spatial resources available for container activity, also for Contargo’s Swiss location. The provision of containers is of central importance for the region’s container import and export flows. Thus Contargo’s existing offer will be substantially supported and enlarged. Here the competences and activities of the Weil am Rhein container centre also complement the project Gateway Basel Nord.

Leasing part of the port on the Rhine is in line with the so-called landlord model followed by most German inland ports, in which port operations are leased out to service providers. The town council of Weil am Rhein, the main shareholder in the urban subsidiary, gave the go-ahead for the call to tender for leasing in 2016, thus initiating the legally regulated procedure. The contract was finally awarded to the most economic bidder.

About Contargo:

With an annual transport volume of 2.1 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units), 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. The enterprise has 24 container terminals at its disposal in Germany, France and Switzerland and maintains offices at seven additional locations in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Contargo also operates its own barge and rail lines. In 2020 the workforce of 1,158 employees achieved a turnover of 513 million Euro.
More information is available at www.contargo.net.

About Rheinhafengesellschaft Weil am Rhein:

The Port of Weil am Rhein (Rheinhafengesellschaft) is a communal enterprise and the first public port along the Rhine on the German side of the Swiss border. The municipality of Weil am Rhein, as principal shareholder, holds 90.2 percent of the company shares. The company operates terminals for containers and bulk goods in Weil am Rhein. Sites, warehouses and offices are leased out by the Rheinhafengesellschaft throughout the port area. The annual waterside transhipment is approximately 450,000 metric tons. More information is available at http://rheinhafen-weil.de/ .