Starting signal for construction of a new Dachser Eurohub in France

6 July 2010. Following Überherrn in the Saarland and Bratislava in Slovakia, it’s now the turn of France: on 6 July 2010 in the municipality of Combronde, some 30 kilometres north of the French city of Clermont-Ferrand, the internationally operating logistics provider gave the starting signal for construction of its third Eurohub. This will be built on a 60,600-square-metre site. The new build will mean 100 new Dachser jobs in the region. “Construction of the French Eurohub illustrates how quickly and dynamically our pan-European network has developed since the first Eurohub opened its doors in Überherrn eight years ago. What’s more, with this we are also pursuing a “Made by Dachser” logistics concept that is fully in line with our activities in the field of sustainability,” says Bernhard Simon, spokesmen for the Dachser management. Dachser has earmarked ten million euros for the new Eurohub project. A tried-and-tested logistics concept The basis for all freight services is a central logistics platform that links all branches in the French network. Every night, 55 trucks will arrive at the goods transshipment centre. From here, shipments will be forwarded on directly to their target destinations. The hub will enable 80 percent of the French market to be reached within 24 hours without recourse to expensive express services. In order to realize this, Dachser needed a strategically favourable location, which the company found in the Auvergne and, specifically, in Combronde: the hub site is right in the heart of France with direct links to the A71 and A89 motorways. “The concept foresees a complete reorganization of our freight services: our goal is to create efficient, precisely timed and highly reliable transport systems. For our customers, this means that we optimize their delivery times,” explains Philippe Tardieu, who oversees the Dachser France national organization. Swap bodies in France – pioneering achievements in groupage logistics The second distinctive feature concerns goods transport: in future, Dachser will use double-deck swap bodies both at the Eurohub and at many other locations in France. With this, the company is playing a pioneering role in the French groupage market. Advantages of the swap body “road container”:

High payload – double-deck loading provides space for 38 Euro pallets in one swap body.
Flexible goods transshipment – fewer transshipment processes optimize goods flows.
High level of load security thanks to modern stowage systems.

Facts and figures: Dachser creates 100 jobs The hub will have a transshipment area of 7,150 square metres and 98 loading bays; the office area will measure 1,410 square metres spread over three storeys. At the start-up of operations, scheduled for summer 2011, Dachser will create 100 jobs in the region. In 2009 Dachser generated total revenue of EUR 3.2 billion. 17,500 staff working in 306 profit centres worldwide handled 41.8 million consignments weighing a total of 29.4 million tonnes. BU “Bild1”: Start of construction of the third Dachser-Eurohub near Clermont-Ferrand: Bernhard Simon and Philippe Tardieu plant a tree as a symbol for sustainable economic management. BU “Bild2”: Cutting-edge: Dachser launches double-deck swap bodies in France