Business clusters important for logistical sector

In recent years, a lot of companies in the logistical sector constructed new buildings. New buildings of WDP sprang up in the Netherlands in Amsterdam, Heerlen, Moerdijk, Barendrecht, Venlo, Bleiswijk and Alblasserdam, among other places. The fact that companies cluster together at the same location has a positive effect, according to Rien van Ast of WDP. In the past four years, the company finished up a number of major projects in the logistical sector, and they’re currently working on the redevelopment of the railway yard in Barendrecht and the business park IABC in Breda.

“About four years ago, we ended up in the fresh produce sector by accident,” Rien reminisces. “It all started with a partnership with The Greenery.” The old auction site in Barendrecht was being redeveloped, after which the soft fruit centre in Breda was also taken in hand. Since then, WDP experienced a good development within the sector. Projects were undertaken in Barendrecht, Bleiswijk and Alblasserdam, among other places. They’re currently working on the redevelopment of the rail yard in Barendrecht. “We’re working very hard to figure out how to give shape to that in cooperation with various customers from the fresh produce sector.”

WDP is a developer and end investor in logistics and semi-industrial real estate. To that end, the company looks at the wishes of customers, and no buildings are built on stock. The lack of cold store is a current topic, but it’s ‘not convenient’ to build on stock. The building often turns out to not quite meet the requirements of new tenants in that case. “After all, fresh produce is a specialism, and it’s therefore important to look at logistics within a company and the target audience,” Rien explains. “We naturally keep in mind that a building could be used by other parties in future.”

A wave of renewal is happening within the entire sector. “A lot of old warehouses often have low ceilings and asphalt floors. A wave of renewal can now be seen, and companies ask for premises suitable to modern logistics with smooth floors, LED lighting and good isolation,” he describes the trend. “The sector is becoming more mature in that respect.” Automation, robotisation and heat recovery are all factors that have to be kept in mind more and more when constructing new buildings. “You can also notice companies consolidating and specialising for certain products.”

The IABC site in Breda is currently being torn down. “We’re still negotiating with various parties, but no signatures have been placed yet,” Rien continues. Yet the decision to tear down the old buildings has already been taken, because of leaks and asbestos, among other things. “At some point, you have to decide to stop. We also have to deal with changing requirements from the fire brigade.” That’s why leases were terminated last year, after which the demolition was started. “Since we starting the demolition, we have been approached by various parties who are interested in the new buildings.”

The city turns out to be an attractive place of business for companies, which is resulting in a mix of commercial enterprises and suppliers. “It often concerns companies focused on the Benelux. Breda is centrally located on an axis from Rotterdam to Antwerp,” Rien explains. “Many soft fruit companies can be found across the border with Belgium, a concentration can be seen there as well.” This concentration of companies is important. “I strongly believe in clusters of companies, such as can also be seen in Barendrecht, for example. These companies might be competitors, but they also boost each other.” In the Netherlands, not much attention is paid to the importance of such clusters, according to Rien. “We should be paying more attention to creating these clusters, and keeping companies near each other, because they boost each other.”

Increasing land and construction costs are an inhibiting factor on the market. The construction costs have risen considerably since last year, and land prices are also going up. “If you now make agreements with a customer and it takes three months before construction starts, costs could rise again in the meantime,” Rien says. “That can be a bit of a confrontation.” An additional problem is the lack of installers and construction workers, and the full schedules of contractors. Yet Rien isn’t worried. “The boom in construction for logistics won’t last forever. A considerable amount of new buildings has been built in recent years. Eventually, constructors will get less work.”

WDP prefers redeveloping existing business parks. “We’re cut out for the part we played for The Greenery. We’re not afraid of redevelopment, demolition or reorganisation.” This offers plenty of opportunities. Companies often move from an old building to a new one at the same business park. The old buildings often become dilapidated. “That’s a shame,” Rien says, because the decline affects the entire business park. WDP recently bought the old Heineken site near ’s Hertogenbosch. With nine hectares and located near the container terminal, it offers room for redevelopment.

Multimodal transport will become an important factor in location choice for companies in future. Locations near rail and water connections are popular. “A lot of business parks lack parking spaces for lorries,” Rien says. “You can see the large number of lorries parked by the side of motorways. I always think Kloosterboer’s CoolPort is a good example of various modalities coming together.”

WDP

Rien van Ast