Logistics Region Niedersachsen

With 220,000 employees, logistics is one of the largest sectors in Niedersachsen. The intense concentration of the industry in Niedersachsen is due to the state’s central location in Europe, its excellent transport infrastructure, the high quality nodal network covering the entire region and the excellent service provided for acquiring and developing key location industrial sites that meet the specific business needs of investors. Leading system providers and logistics companies operating both nationally and internationally offer highest quality services and a full range of competencies in all aspects of logistics requirements. Around 600 major investments in logistics projects since the year 2000 bear witness to the attractiveness of Niedersachsen as a key logistics location. With its state-wide initiative Logistics established in 2001 (see www.logistikportalniedersachsen.de), Niedersachsen continues to actively promote this trend by channeling these strengths and creating easier access for businesses to the immense resources available.

Excellent Connections

Niedersachsen offers a perfect infrastructure for setting up and operating intermodal transport chains. Your business is guaranteed fast accessibility to all European markets through high performance and cleverly networked traffic arteries through road, rail, airways and a fully integrated net of waterways. State roads reach out to all areas within the region, which also has around 1,400 kilometers of autobahn routes leading to all German and European destinations. There are around 4,200 km of railroad track, and the region boasts a highly efficient network of waterways stretching over around 1,100 km. Niedersachsen has numerous sea ports, inland ports, airports and a wide net of cargo transport centers for ideal connections and networking to all of Europe’s most important industrial centers.

Wide network of logistics nodes:

• Seaports with specialized handling facilities
• JadeWeserPort (JWP), a specialized container terminal in Wilhelmshaven; on completion of current expansion, the JWP will be the only deep-water port in Germany
• Multifunctional inland ports
• Cargo transport centers with state-of-the-art infrastructure for networked transport chains
• Dense network of terminals for combined transport options
• Direct access and close connections to the leading airports for air cargo in North Germany

Unique Concentration of Sea Ports

Niedersachsen has traditionally enjoyed the advantages of offering a density of seaports unique in Europe, with nine ports in Brake, Cuxhaven, Emden, Leer, Nordenham, Papenburg, Oldenburg, Stade and Wilhelmshaven, and more large international ports in the neighboring cities Bremen, Bremerhaven and Hamburg. On August 5th, 2012, the JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven (JWP) is planned to go into full operation. JWP is equipped to handle new generation container ships with loads of more than 14,000 standard containers. Alongside Rotterdam, it is the only northern European deepwater port that is completely free of tidal influences, allowing cargo handling without any waiting times. JWP is setting a signal for the future of Germany’s seaports. As a major turntable for modern industry, the port gives international investors in Europe unique opportunities to reach out fast and effectivelyto all the major European and Scandinavian markets, and to eastern Europe and Russia. Niedersachsen offers excellent connections from its seaports to inland ports and logistics centers throughout the state and beyond via its large number of waterways, which are continuously being developed and extended. Combined with its road and rail networks, Niedersachsen offers all the options required to reach out to markets by land and water.

High Level of Logistics Competence

Niedersachsen offers numerous further education and qualification options in the field of goods transport and logistics through its universities and specialized further education institutes. The offering covers a wide range of professional training and further education geared to meet the specialized labor needs of the logistics sector in the region. The close cooperation between universities, competence centers and companies makes a major contribution to the impressive innovative potential of Niedersachsen’s companies.

The level and range of competence available among Niedersachsen’s logistics companies is impressive. Specialized areas include automotive logistics, spare parts services, the food industry and subsidiary distribution centers, to name but a few. Companies use the very special advantages of the location to offer their customers a wide range of services in the areas of sourcing, production, distribution and waste disposal. An overview of Niedersachsen’s numerous successful, internationally operating companies is available in the Niedersachsen company database maintained at www.nglobal.com, which gives interested parties sector-based and other detailed search options.

Quality Site Locations

In today’s industrial world, transport options and logistics are decisive factors in making the right location choice. This is the main reason why a large number of distributor HQs have been set up in Niedersachsen in recent years. In additionto several large corporations including Bosch-Rexroth, Continental, MAN, Mercedes, MTU and PSA, there has been substantial growth in the number of SMEs locating in Niedersachsen. Alongside its geographical advantages and excellent transportation infrastructure, Niedersachsen offers excellent solutions to a whole range of logistics challenges. This is especially true for the high and very heterogeneous demands of the automotive industry and for highly specialized niche markets such as for example in the field of textiles logistics. Niedersachsen pursues a policy of continuously developing its logistics infrastructure and creating the kind of development sites that are needed by modern industry. A standard communal information service gives interested parties a general overview of the sizes and qualities of sites available for development at www.KomSIS.de.

Niedersachsen’s Logistics Networks and Clusters