DÜSSELDORF (April 11, 2018) – Prologis, Inc., the global leader in logistics real estate, together with L’Oréal today celebrates the cornerstone ceremony for the new logistics facility in Muggensturm, Germany. Prologis is the project developer. Already at the beginning of next year, all 450 employees are to move into their new workplace. Upon its completion, the CO2-neutral facility will comprise an area of over 100,000 square meters. L’Oréal will supply the markets in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland from here.
“We are so proud that Muggensturm is attracting interest from international companies,” said Dietmar Späth, mayor of the municipality of Muggensturm. “We’re pleased to welcome L’Oréal as our future neighbor and to work with Prologis again after their development of the first facility here in 2003. L’Oréal’s new CO2-neutral facility further raises the profile of Muggensturm as a modern logistics site.”
Increased Capacities and Improved Flexibility Allow Further Growth
The planned distribution center will be the largest of the L’Oréal Group worldwide. Current capacity at the locations in Karlsruhe will be almost doubled, allowing the cosmetics enterprise to enjoy long-term growth and integrate logistics for Switzerland. “Our customers’ needs change rapidly,” said Klemens Gschwandtner, director of operations DACH at L’Oréal. “We will be able to respond to these changes more flexibly in Muggensturm. By consolidating our operations at one location we will be able to work even more efficiently in the future. Our processes and workflows will be simpler, more modern, and more sustainable.”
Sustainability Plays Key Role in Construction and Use
The new building will meet very high environmental standards. “Both the construction and the future use of the building are designed to be CO2-neutral,” said Thomas Karmann, managing director, regional head Northern Europe, Prologis. “We’re equipping the facility with reinforced insulation and a 1.8 megawatt photovoltaic system, among other things.”
The electricity produced by the photovoltaic system will be fed into the grid of an energy utility provider and bought back by L’Oréal as needed. L’Oréal will also be using “green energy” from wind turbines, for example. Rainwater will be used to water the outdoor landscaping, clean the halls, and flush the toilets.
“This large-scale project is an excellent addition to our developments to date in Germany and falls perfectly in line with our sustainability strategy and that of L’Oréal,” said Thomas Karmann. “We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to L‘Oréal for their trust in us and to the municipality of Muggensturm for its cooperation.” In Germany Prologis is developing all new properties in line with the Gold Standard of the DGNB, the German Sustainable Building Council – that includes the new L’Oréal logistics facility.
At the cornerstone ceremony L’Oréal announced its future partnership with the Murgtal-Werkstätten & Wohngemeinschaften (mww) – the Murgtal workshops and communal living facilities – a company of the Lebenshilfe Rastatt/Murgtal e.V. organization, which promotes the employment and social integration of individuals with disabilities. At its current locations in Karlsruhe Hagsfeld, L’Oréal has already been partnering with worKA (formerly BzKA) for 19 years. WorKA is another organization that helps individuals with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities to find work. At its headquarters in Düsseldorf, L’Oréal partners with the Fliedner Foundation workshops from Mühlheim an der Ruhr.
Last year L’Oréal was able to offer jobs to a total of 157 individuals with disabilities. “We want to build on that, which is why we are proud to welcome the Murgtal workshops as another long-term partner and look forward to working with them,” said Klemens Gschwandtner. A team from the Murgtal workshops will take care of the gardening and landscaping work at the new L’Oréal site in Muggensturm. To mark the start of their partnership, Prologis and L’Oréal presented the mww with a donation of 10,000 euros. With every construction start in Germany, Prologis donates money to a local nonprofit organization and thus supports numerous activities and social projects.
CBRE advised L'Oréal on property search, tendering and project management.
Celebrating the cornerstone ceremony: (from left) Thomas Karmann (Managing Director, Regional Head Northern Europe, Prologis), Fabrice Megarbane (Managing Director L’Oréal Germany), Klemens Gschwandtner (Director of Operations DACH at L’Oréal), Dietmar Späth (Mayor of the City of Muggensturm) und Dr. Jörg Peter (First official in the county of Rastatt).