Damco launches a dedicated warehouse for Barry Callebaut and inaugurates a new facility in the heart of Poland

Thursday, 18th October was an important day for Damco in Poland and Central Europe – first pallets arrived at the new dedicated warehouse facility, just opened by Damco for Barry Callebaut – one of the world’s leading B2B manufacturers of cocoa and chocolate. Located in Łódź, Poland, the warehouse is an integral part of the production cycle for Barry Callebaut’s second largest factory in Europe and a continuation of a cooperation between the customer and Damco in Poland, lasting since 2011.

“We are very proud to offer this new facility to our customer and extend the already existing collaboration within warehousing and supply chain services”, comments Jakub Mach, country warehousing and distribution manager for Poland at Damco. “With this much larger and more technologically advanced warehouse we hope to further contribute to Barry Callebaut’s ambitious growth plans in the region.”

Damco’s cooperation with the chocolate manufacturer began in 2011 with container clearance and intermodal deliveries, followed by warehousing services in Łódź (main warehouse) and Pabianice (auxiliary). The new facility, part of the distribution centre run by Panattoni in Poland’s prime logistics location in the centre of the country, consolidates both previous warehouses under one roof, increases the volume handled and adds additional capacity needed for future growth.

Barry Callebaut is a B2B chocolate and cocoa manufacturer

The 11 800-square metre facility forms part of Damco’s new competence centre in FMCG raw materials and finished goods warehousing and is located within City Logistics Łódź I complex run by Panattoni, one of the leading industrial space developers. Strategically located in the heart of Poland, in close proximity to major road networks, the facility is only 4h away from the ports in Gdańsk and Gdynia and offers easy access to major Polish cities in the hinterland (Warsaw: ~90 min, Wrocław: ~2h, Katowice: ~2.5h).

“In recent years Barry Callebaut has significantly increased the output of its production facility in Łódź as a result of our Smart Growth strategy”, says Willy Raemdonck, Regional Logistics Manager at Barry Callebaut. “In order to sustain our expansion in the region, we needed improved logistics solutions”. In Summer 2017 a 6-year contract was signed with Damco, who will not only operate the new warehouse, but also run a dedicated shuttle, transporting raw materials from the warehouse to the factory and finished goods from the factory to the warehouse.

“The new facility significantly increases environmental standards on the Polish logistics market, in line with Barry Callebaut’s robust sustainability strategy, called Forever Chocolate. Becoming carbon and forest positive is one of our four pillars, hence the reason why we implement this also in our logistics strategy”, explains Willy Raemdonck.

Damco has therefore taken extra measures, together with Panattoni and real estate broker CBRE, to change the design of the warehouse and accommodate special sustainability needs of the customer. As result, the new building is more environmentally friendly than the previous warehouse, which was certified by external consultants.

The facility is fully compliant with quality standards required for food storage (HACCP) and consists of three zones: ambient storage area, temperature controlled storage (15-25°C) and cold storage (2-8°C). The launch of the dedicated warehouse for Barry Callebaut inaugurates the new facility, which Damco will be able to offer to a wide range of customers seeking premium warehousing and distribution services in the very heart of Poland.