Panalpina, the global forwarding and logistics group, has opened a state-of-the-art logistics service center in Montgomery, Ala., to serve the transportation and logistics needs of its automotive customers in the fast growing Southern Belt of the U.S.

The new 15,000 square meter facility offers advanced supply chain processes including parts sequencing, quality inspection, just-in-time and line-side delivery, inbound material control, safety stock inventory management and returnable container management. The facility uses an advanced warehouse management system and other IT tools including bar-code scanning with radio frequency devices to improve handling efficiency, allow accurate part-level visibility and reduce costs.

“Our Montgomery Logistics Service Center is an ideal showcase of our ability to deliver increasingly sophisticated services and demonstrates our continued commitment to the automotive industry” said Panalpina President & CEO Bruno Sidler. “It perfectly supports our non-asset based strategy in Supply Chain Management, acting as a lead logistics provider to use rented facilities and subcontract certain services to local specialists.”

The Montgomery facility is strategically located just six kilometers from the Hyundai Motor manufacturing plant, which opened earlier this year and will grow to produce 300,000 vehicles per year by 2007. Panalpina supports Hyundai’s entire supply chain operations with transportation and inbound logistics services.

“The opening of our Montgomery Logistics Service Center is an important milestone for Panalpina and our automotive customers,” said Michael Wills, Global Head of Automotive for Panalpina. “This facility enables us to meet the sophisticated requirements of Hyundai and their suppliers. We are proud to work with Hyundai as our first Asian automotive OEM customer, and we are well positioned for future growth in the expanding region.”

The Montgomery facility is fully secure and operates within an active foreign trade zone. It is close to the regional airport and major highways and is served by the ports of Los Angeles, Mobile and Charleston and the Atlanta and Huntsville airports. Montgomery is also closely linked to Panalpina’s central airfreight and distribution hub in Huntsville, which opened in 1990 to serve as a key international gateway between the US and Asia and Europe.

While the Montgomery facility has been set up to meet the evolving needs of the Automotive industry, the facility and services provided will benefit companies of all industries.