DÜSSELDORF (February 6, 2018) – Prologis, Inc., the global leader in logistics real estate, today announced the construction start of a CO2-neutral logistics center for L’Oréal. At completion, the facility, located in Muggensturm near Karlsruhe, will comprise approximately 101,000 square meters of logistics space.
Prologis purchased the land in January 2018 and repurposed what had previously been used as agricultural land into an industrial estate in close collaboration with the municipality of Muggensturm. The 17-hectare site in Muggensturm is ideally suited for a facility of this size.
Located directly on the A5 motorway, the logistics facility will offer a good connection to the area’s transportation network. L’Oréal plans to supply its markets in Germany, Austria and Switzerland from Muggensturm. “The capacities of our existing logistics center in Karlsruhe are no longer sufficient to meet the growing demand for our products,” explained Klemens Gschwandtner, director of operations DACH at L’Oréal. “The new building is a clear commitment to Germany as a location and offers us room for further growth.”
The new facility will be the largest distribution center of the L'Oréal Group worldwide. The current capacity will be increased by 90 percent. All employees from the former logistics center in Karlsruhe will relocate to the new facility.
Sustainability plays a crucial role in the construction and use of the new logistics center. “We are proud to develop an innovative and sustainable logistics facility for our international customer L’Oréal,” said Thomas Karmann, managing director, regional head, Prologis Northern Europe. “The building will meet very high environmental standards. It falls in line perfectly with our sustainability strategy and the sustainability strategy of L’Oréal.”
Sustainability is a priority for Prologis. All of the company’s developments in Germany meet the gold standard of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). The company has been included among the 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World by Corporate Knights.
Both the embedded footprint of the construction and the operations of the logistics facility are carbon neutral. The building will be equipped with reinforced insulation and a 1.8 megawatt photovoltaic system. The electricity produced by the system is fed into the grid of a utility company and is then purchased back by L’Oréal to the extent needed. Besides, L’Oréal uses "green energy" generated by wind turbines for example.
Rainwater is used for irrigation of the green spaces, hall cleaning and toilet flushing. In addition, a central building management system enables energy savings. For example, the lights can be switched off centrally, even after business hours. Consumption can also be directly matched by the central system to identify potential savings. Prologis is aiming to have the low-energy facility awarded with the DGNB gold standard. The certificate is given to environmentally friendly, resource-efficient, functional buildings that integrate well into their socio-cultural environment.
Long-Standing Partnership
Prologis and L’Oréal have worked together for several years in France and Poland. In July 2016, L’Oréal again chose Prologis as its partner for developing this new logistics facility in Germany. “Prologis promptly developed a sustainable, innovative concept based on our requirements and convinced us with their extensive technical expertise,” said Klemens Gschwandtner.
Prologis already owns a logistics facility measuring 40,000 square meters in Muggensturm. “We are pleased to welcome Prologis as a partner once again,” said Dietmar Späth, mayor of the municipality of Muggensturm. “Due to L’Oréal’s settlement with this sustainable, CO2-neutral facility, the economic relevance of Muggensturm for the logistics industry will continue to grow.”
