The European landscape is quickly changing, and with it the footprint and location of logistics operations. Several trends are influencing investment in logistics: continued growth in manufacturing in Central and Eastern Europe, thereby creating needs in distribution, and the flood of Asian goods coming into Europe via major seaports and airports, most of which are located in Western Europe.

For example, San Francisco-based AMB Property Group is involved in air cargo center projects at the Paris (Charles de Gaulle), Frankfurt, Madrid and Amsterdam airports. These airports have gained enormous importance as air cargo hubs thanks to their numerous intercontinental connections, well-established handling processes and convenient geo-strategic positions within Europe.

“Not many carriers have relations and air rights to fly into China,” said Marcel Stuve, managing partner of supply chain strategies for Buck Consultants International of Nijmegen, the Netherlands. “But those that do, connect at Europe’s mega hubs like Frankfurt, Paris’ Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam and London’s Heathrow. The work load at these airports is only going to increase.”

Also wielding logistics activities are ongoing improvements to Europe’s transportation network, with one of the largest currently being the 35-mile Gotthard base tunnel in Switzerland. A high-speed rail link, still 10 years away from being operational, the tunnel will connect the isolated and economically depressed mountain region in Graubunden to the rest of Europe.

Europe’s Heart for Logistics

Traditionally, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany have attracted significant logistics concerns. The Meuse Rhine Triangle, which encompasses important crossroads of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, has been particularly successful given its dense transportation network. Here, 14 European highways intersect, offering excellent traffic flow.

Liege Airport, with its key tenant TNT, is a center for freight, and Maastricht-Aachen provides passenger traffic. The region provides three major inland ports with multimodal terminals, standard and high-speed rail systems, five major European waterways, superb telecommunications, and logistics sites and industrial parks specifically designed for multimodal transport.

A project currently available in Liege is Bierset TriLogis Park. Its platform offers tri-modal access for road, rail and air logistics.

ProLogis, a provider of integrated distribution facilities and services, is opening a 54,000 square yard distribution center (DC) at the Hauts-Sarts park on the E313 Liege-Antwerp highway. Plans for the next stage of expansion call for an additional 108,000 square yards of space.

It is not by accident that Bertelsmann, Bose, Boston Scientific, IKEA, TNT and Skechers have their European logistics operations in the triangle.

Skechers, a producer of lifestyle footwear, operates a warehouse in Liege. The location attracted Skechers because of its transportation modes — barge, rail, road, truck and air. The company easily found ample and expandable space, and the area offered an available and skilled work force.

Liege’s Forem Logistique annually trains about 3,000 people in 25 transport and logistics sectors. The University of Liege and other colleges in the area also offer courses in integrated logistics, packing and transport, and logistics management.

“But that’s not all,” said Alex Van Breedam, a professor and logistics expert at the University of Antwerp. “The chances for further growth in logistics in Meuse Rhine Triangle lie in postponement and thus in value-added logistics.”

Postponement means making the final product on the basis of client specifications and as late as possible, only just before delivery. That makes the manufacturers more flexible and the logistics part of the product cheaper.

“If we realize that most of the wealthiest clients in Europe — business and consumer — live within a range of 310 miles from the Meuse Rhine Triangle, where else would the logical location for value-added logistics be,” Van Breedam said.

Johnson & Johnson recently decided to locate its $40 million European DC for medical devices and diagnostics division at Courcelles, near Charleroi, not far from Liege. Scheduled to open later this year, the DC will centralize Johnson & Johnson’s 26 DCs in one location.

“The efforts made by the Walloon region, in conjunction with the central location in Europe, the presence of the airport and transportation infrastructure, and the possibility of teaming up with TNT Logistics were key factors in making this investment decision,” said Guy Lebeau, company group chairman of Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices and Diagnostics.

Bose, the U.S.-based audio systems specialist, operates its DC at Tongeren, in Limburg, Flanders, for many of the same reasons.

Limburg is also home to Exel, NYK Logistics, Ford, Staples, Tenneco Automotive, Harley-Davidson, Alcoa and Panasonic.

Nearby, Luxembourg is focusing on air cargo, as well as various levels of shipping, logistics and value-added services, in part, because of Findel Airport. Luxembourg is home to CargoLux, the EU’s largest all cargo air carrier. Up to 10 percent growth is expected at the airport this year given newly available parcels of land and tax incentives.

Mediterranean Opportunities

Bologna, and its Emilia Romagna region in Northern Italy, is attractive because of its east-west, north-south crossroads location, where rail and motorways converge.

“The Interporto Bologna (Bologna Freight Village, Logistics Platform) has rail and road connections with the main ports to facilitate and support the activities of shipping companies and foster the use of intermodal,” said Galloni Gilberto, chairman of Bologna Interporto.

A number of companies are moving into the region to take advantage of activities related to sea and intermodal transport services. Among them are Maersk, ProLogis and Basell. To retain its competitive edge, the freight village includes a telematic network, or high-tech communications options, that are increasingly important for logistics operations.

Further south, the Lazio region, home to Italy’s capital city of Rome, is slated to become an important center for national and international logistics operations thanks to vast improvements of its air, highway, waterway and rail systems. Already underway are expansions to Lazio’s main seaport of Civitavecchia and the opening of a cargo complex at Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport.

Some 500 multinational companies have relocated to Lazio thanks to its proximity to Central Europe, Mediterranean markets, as well as its connections to world commerce.