Kelheim: Strong location continues to grow

'The new building demonstrates the dynamic development of Kia as one of the growing brands in the German automobile sector. At the same time, it underlines the significance of the strategic partnership with BLG for our company,' explains Steffen Cost, Managing Director of Kia Motors Deutschland.

The BLG terminal near Regensburg has been working for the South Korean auto manufacturer since the opening of the Kia factory in Zilina, Slovakia, in 2006. The new vehicles for the German market reach the Kelheim terminal by railroad, then undergo technical reconditioning including special modifications before going into storage. BLG AutoTransport GmbH & Co. KG, which operates its own center at the terminal, distributes the vehicles to dealers. The volume for Kia Motors Deutschland is around 35,000 vehicles per year.

'Kelheim is an important link in our international automobile logistics network. It's ideally located for consolidation of vehicles and subsequent distribution to dealers in Germany and the BENELUX countries. With the construction of the new car park, we are upgrading this trimodal inland terminal,' says Andrea Eck, Head of the AUTOMOBILE division at the BLG Group, which is headquartered in Bremen.

Covered storage for 13,000 new vehicles
With a length of 155 meters, a width of 84 meters, and a height of 23 meters, the new multi-story car park will be the largest at the Kelheim terminal. In the future, the inland terminal will offer parking spaces for 32,000 cars, of which 13,000 will be covered. Especially new vehicle customers value covered storage.

'We're delighted to have our longstanding customer Kia as our partner here,' says Andrea Eck. 'The new car park ensures even more efficient use of space, even better quality of our work, and it's being built to the very latest construction standards. LED lighting, charging points for electric vehicles, and a photovoltaic system on the roof were essential features for us.'

Görgen Brockbalz, Managing Director of the auto terminal, adds: 'It was important to us that we use the existing site optimally without expanding our footprint. Instead, we're building up. We're also concentrating our transports here at our main location.' Additional transports to the current external storage facilities would soon no longer be necessary, he pointed out.

The investment volume for the new multi-story car park is some EUR 24 million. Start of operations is scheduled for the end of 2021. The construction company is the Goldbeck Group.

About the BLG AutoTerminal Kelheim
Established in 1995, the BLG AutoTerminal Kelheim is today a major hub in the BLG Group's automobile network. Vehicles arrive in Kelheim mainly by barge from Hungary, by truck from the South German automobile factories, or by rail from Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The vehicles go into interim storage at the terminal and from there they are distributed to dealers throughout the country. More than 200 BLG employees handled some 220,000 vehicles in 2019.
So far, 27,000 cars have been stored on the 547,000-m² open-air area and in two multi-story car parks built in 2007 and 2009. Apart from terminal handling and vehicle storage, the service portfolio includes comprehensive technical services such as vehicle preparation, washing, underbody protective coating, painting and special fittings. The terminal has two railroad connections and berths for inland barges.