Würth France invests EUR 60 million in annex to logistics hub in Erstein
At the end of 2020, we got the go-ahead for this immense project to modernize our logistics hub. It goes to show the close ties the Würth family has to the Alsace site and also illustrates the willingness to continue the successful operation of our company. Thanks to our sound cash flow and sufficient equity capital, we can finance the project from our own resources.
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Würth France, the largest single company of the globally operating Würth Group outside Germany, is set to invest in the modernization of its Erstein logistics hub, thus strengthening Würth's footprint in the Bas-Rhin region and increasing the hub’s size by 6,000 square meters. Among others, the company plans to build a fully automated high-bay warehouse. For Würth France, this expansion constitutes the largest investment since the company’s foundation in 1967.
Greater customer proximity
In the main, the optimized logistics strategy aims to increase productivity, shorten delivery times, improve order handling and create workstations that are more ergonomic. With this step, the company strives not only to step up customer satisfaction and remain a competitive player in the market, but also to safeguard jobs in the long run.
Temporary parcel storage allows for the consolidation of customer orders in the fully automated warehouse. The specialist for fastening and assembly materials thus creates its own base for the handling and consolidation of flows of goods. If orders comprise several packages, the packages already prepared wait for the remaining packages in the shuttle. Customers will thus receive fewer individual packages. This internal consolidation also reduces environmental impact.
In addition to building the new annex, large parts of the existing logistics hub will be modernized. Besides installing a new conveyor system, the company sets great store by making the employees’ workstations more ergonomic.
Largest logistics investment at the Erstein site
The total investment volume for the modernization project and the entailing reorganization of logistics processes amounts to over EUR 60 million. Construction works are set to start in 2022. Completion is scheduled for 2024. In the 2020 fiscal year, Würth France generated sales of EUR 576 million with more than 4,000 employees.
About the Würth Group
The Würth Group is the global market leader in its core business—the sale of fastening and assembly materials. It consists of more than 400 companies in over 80 countries with more than 79,000 employees on its payroll. Approximately 33,000 of those employees are salaried sales representatives. According to the preliminary annual financial statements, the Würth Group generated EUR 14.41 billion in sales in the 2020 fiscal year.
In the Group's core business, the Würth Line, the sales program for the skilled trades and industry comprises more than 125,000 products: from screws, screw accessories and anchors to tools, technical chemicals and personal protective equipment. The Allied Companies round off the range by offering products for DIY stores, material for electrical installations, electronic components such as circuit boards and financial services. They account for around 40 percent of the Würth Group’s sales volume.