Spare parts depot extended

The storage area of the depot in the Eichwald industrial park near Sachsenheim was extended from 113,000 to 170,000 square metres. There over 100,000 Porsche parts are ready for call-off and delivery using pioneering logistics to over 800 locations world-wide. A total of 80 million euros was invested in the extension.

"The logistics backbone of our Porsche spare parts organisation is located in the Eichwald industrial park. The extension of our logistics capacity supports our dealers all over the world and helps them offer an exemplary service to customers, despite the substantial increase in the number of cars sold," said Dr Oliver Blume, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics, at the opening ceremony to inaugurate the new building.

First cut of the spade in October 2007

"We convinced our employer during negotiations in 2005 to build the spare parts depot in Sachsenheim, here in Baden-Württemberg. It is worthwhile to address productivity and flexibility in order to secure – and even generate – jobs," said Uwe Hück, Chairman of the Group Works Council of Porsche AG.

The central spare parts depot is located in the industrial park which jointly belongs to the municipalities of Sachsenheim, Bietigheim-Bissingen, Oberriexingen and Sersheim, 19 kilometres from the Porsche home plant in Zuffenhausen. The first cut of the spade was made in October 2007. "The third construction phase is a welcome occasion to consistently expand our best-in-class logistics," said Jürgen Wels, Managing Director of Porsche Logistik GmbH.

150 industrial trucks and eleven tractor trains on site

Sophisticated and pioneering logistics management with lean, low-waste processes in the central spare parts depot ensure top supply quality. More than 500 skilled workers are employed in logistics processing and the usual time taken to supply spare parts to all Porsche centres and dealers all over the world is 24 hours. Regional depots located abroad are also supplied with Porsche parts directly from Sachsenheim. There are 150 industrial trucks and eleven tractor trains on site. The route concept foresees that in future, tractor trains will travel a daily distance of 420 kilometres. 200 trucks ensure the inbound and outbound delivery of the wide range of Porsche parts every day.

In his function as Chairman of the Eichwald Association, Horst Fiedler, mayor of Sachsenheim, had this to say about the new extension: "Our municipalities are very proud and delighted that Porsche has extended its site here. Porsche is one of the most important companies in our inter-municipal industrial park. We naturally welcome the company's local expansion." Uwe Hück added: "I am proud of our Porsche employees! My motto is "Profits oblige us to invest in the region."

More than one billion euros in various building projects invested

With the extension of the central spare parts depot, the sports car manufacturer is also setting a distinct signal of sustainability. Porsche placed a great deal of importance on sustainable construction for the extension at the Sachsenheim location. The depot has been certified to ISO Standard 50001 (energy management) since 2011. This standard requires the performance of regular audits to inspect compliance with the resource-conserving use of energy. In addition new projects in particular are assessed for innovative ideas. For this reason the extension already defined milestones for increasing energy efficiency at the planning stage. At the same time, an air tightness test was conducted using what is known as a blower door test. As a result of these measures, the requirements of the Energy Saving Ordinance were undercut by 44 percent.

The extension of the central spare parts depot is a key element to secure the growth course of Porsche. As part of this strategy, the sports car manufacturer has invested more than one billion euros in various building projects in Germany. They include the erection of a new drive system test building at the Weissach Development Centre for 95 million euros and the expansion of the Leipzig plant at an investment volume of about 500 million euros. 

In Zuffenhausen Porsche will have invested over 300 million euros by 2016. In addition to a new engine plant the company is converting existing buildings there to provide central workshops for cars. At the same time, work is under way on a new training centre. A further 25 million euros will be invested at the multi-brand location in Osnabrück for the assembly of components for the Porsche Cayenne.