Thomas Zernechel, Head of Volkswagen Group Logistics, says: "The decision in favor of the Wilhelmshaven location is of strategic importance of the Volkswagen Group. The Jade-Weser-Port is Germany's only deep sea port. With the packing facility, we will be establishing a direct connection to a port which will allow our parts to be carried by the largest ships in the world." From 2019, parts for the Volkswagen, Audi and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands are to be packed in Wilhelmshaven and then shipped to 25 locations in 15 overseas countries.
The new packaging center is to be built on land with an area of 100,000 m² directly next to the Jade-Weser-Port. It will consist of four halls with a total area of more than 40,000 m². In future, about 7,000 different vehicle parts for the Audi, Volkswagen and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brands will be shipped to Wilhelmshaven and packed in 250 containers each week. That corresponds to more than 12,000 containers (40 ‘ high cube) per year. The packaging center is to be built by a private investor and construction work will start this year. Packing operations are due to start in 2019 and will be handled by a logistics service provider.