Panattoni Europe building for front-end manufacturer HBPO

• €26 million investment to create 25,000m² of new logistics space in the Saarland
• 14,331m² to be developed for automotive front-end manufacturer HBPO, plus speculative premises of 10,395m²
• Completion scheduled for early 2020

Panattoni Europe, the leading project developer for industrial and logistics properties in Europe, is to create a logistics centre in the Saarland with total investment of around €26 million. The approx. 60,000m² site will house both a build-to-suit solution and speculative premises. The former will be home to front-end manufacturer HBPO and will feature 14,331m² of hall space, around 1,491m² of office space and social areas, as well as 1,142m² of mezzanine areas. The premises will also include 104 car parking spaces.

Panattoni Europe is realising the first construction phase of the logistics premises in accordance with the automotive supplier’s complex requirements. HBPO’s services comprise the assembly, storage and just-in-sequence supply of front-end modules to the Daimler factory located just 15km away in Hambach.

The second construction phase includes approx. 10,395m² of hall space, around 975m² of office space and social areas, and 32 car parking spaces. Both logistics premises will comply with sustainable building guidelines according to the DGNB (German Sustainable Building Council) Gold Standard.

“The logistics centre’s construction is hugely important for our municipality,” said Stephan Strichertz, Mayor of the municipality of Kleinblittersdorf. “Manufacturing firm HBPO alone is set to create around 120 new jobs, and more will be created by the second premises.”

Construction of the premises has received supra-regional support. “This investment ensures that we catch the eye in the competition between different locations. This project is important not only for the Saarland but for the entire region,” confirmed State Secretary Jürgen Barke from the Saarland Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour, Energy and Transport. “We’re pleased that, in Panattoni Europe, we have a distinguished partner in the development of industrial and logistics properties that has proven itself over many years.”

Panattoni Europe is developing the new logistics centre on a brownfield site home to a former factory complex. The work to demolish the three existing buildings and remove the extensive asphalt surface is planned to begin in mid-July 2019. Construction is then scheduled to start in early September 2019. The first building, to be constructed for HBPO, is set to be completed by mid-March 2020; the second should follow just one month later.

“A particular challenge in the logistics centre’s development is the tight schedule: from the demolition works through to completing both construction sections, we have just nine months,” explained Fred-Markus Bohne, Managing Partner of Panattoni Europe. “With this development, we’re once again providing the market with the logistics space it so urgently requires.”