Railway Track at NORDFROST Port Terminal Wilhelmshaven Now Operational

In a small gathering, the new railway facility of NORDFROST was inaugurated mid-week with its first use, connecting the company’s port terminal with the public railway network. From now on, combined transport will be organized for all types of goods, further enhancing the attractiveness of the container port Wilhelmshaven.

(Wilhelmshaven) Last week, the first train passed the entrance to the NORDFROST port terminal in the container port Wilhelmshaven. The locomotive carries 18 wagons loaded with nearly 200 new cars from the manufacturer Audi on the approximately 2 km long railway facility. Coming from the north, it goes straight into the 33 ha area of NORDFROST, parallel to the border of the neighboring cargo handling operation and along the company’s new heavy goods hall. Here, the approximately 500 m long train comes to a stop, allowing the cars to be unloaded via a mobile ramp onto a large asphalt area. The first inspection of the vehicles takes place there before they are transported to a neighboring area rented by Audi within the freight transport center (GVZ) of the port for temporary storage. “Here in the port, we find the best conditions for our automotive logistics requirements,” says Markus Gumbiller, Outbound Control Audi AG.

First Train Loading with Vehicles

The direct client for the first train loading at NORDFROST in Wilhelmshaven is CAT Car Terminal GmbH, commissioned by Audi for the handling. As a subsidiary of the French CAT-Groupe, the company based in Osnabrück is known as a Europe-wide service provider for new and used vehicle logistics. “With NORDFROST, we have found a suitable partner that offers flexible options and creates pragmatic solutions,” says Timo Völz, Logistics Manager at CAT.

“This first train arrival is the start of many more rail transports at the NORDFROST port terminal,” says Britta Bartels, managing partner of NORDFROST, for the family business, pointing out that the company’s own track is available to all shippers, along with generous open storage space. “We support loading activities with our services as needed,” she explains. Andreas Bullwinkel, Managing Director of the Container Terminal JadeWeserPort Marketing Company, praises the cooperative collaboration among the companies based in the GVZ and looks forward to further projects of this kind.

Diverse Infrastructure

In the future, NORDFROST will organize combined transport incorporating rail for its customers as part of supply chain management. In addition to the equipment needed for rolling cargo, such as cars, specialized container stackers, known as reachstackers, will be available to load containers onto and off the train. In this context, NORDFROST will provide more in-depth services at its port terminal as needed, such as pre-treatment of wood for export overseas.

A track runs directly through the new heavy goods hall. Components arriving by rail can be unloaded and easily handled in the 8,000 m² large hall using overhead cranes. All three hall ships are equipped with cranes with a lifting capacity of up to 120 tons, allowing parts to be assembled into larger units and prepared for safe sea transport. An offering in project logistics with maritime packaging, which has established itself well with the successful handling of various demanding projects for the German machinery and plant engineering sector.

Development Opportunities in Wilhelmshaven

For the German export economy, there is an interesting opportunity for temporary storage of containers that reach the NORDFROST port terminal by rail, in the company’s container depot, which offers all services for container preparation. With the logistics provider’s container shuttle, the boxes are then delivered punctually to the transshipment terminal for ship loading. This offers shippers more flexibility in today’s time and a welcome alternative to traditional seaports, where container deliveries can currently only take place with very short notice due to traffic congestion before ship departures.

“The container port Wilhelmshaven needs to be much more integrated into overseas traffic for the benefit of the importing and exporting economy,” demands Britta Bartels. “There are still development opportunities here and a quick handling of overseas traffic. Currently, we are experiencing numerous unplanned ship arrivals at the German container deep-water port and are supporting the affected shippers with convincing solutions for unloading or delivering containers. We are confident that the potential of the port is increasingly being recognized by shipping companies and shippers!” At the NORDFROST port terminal, a dedicated team led by branch manager Philipp Brandstrup is always available with tailored services.

Specialized in the Food Sector

This Container Freight Station is specialized as a food hub but provides logistics services for goods of all kinds. The covered storage capacity currently includes 105,000 pallet spaces, divided into one-third each for frozen, fresh, and dry storage for food and for general cargo. Additionally, there is the heavy goods hall inaugurated in September 2020. The new high-bay warehouse, which will expand the frozen storage capacity of the site from 35,000 pallet spaces to 75,000 spaces, is about to be commissioned. Extensive, already operational hygiene areas are connected to it – for food processing on behalf of customers, including contract packaging directly at the port.

Photo: © Nordfrost