Injecting applied engineering into logistics

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27 January 2022
Katoen Natie solide et flexible dans le temps
Du coton aux biens de consommation, Katoen Natie, du néerlandais « nations du coton », née en 1854, continue de grandir et de se transformer. À l’origine coopérative créée pour faciliter l’importation du coton en Europe sur le port d’Anvers, l’entreprise se développe très vite et assure la logistique, le temps passant, d’autres marchandises arrivées depuis la mer : jute, café, fer, acier, fruits… Puis, après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Katoen Natie continue à grandir. Elle développe ses propres bâtiments et assure le stockage des produits dans ses entrepôts, le transport, la préparation de commandes et l’expédition. Au début des années 90, le logisticien se spécialise dans la pétrochimie, la chimie, l’industrie automobile et la grande distribution. « Nous sommes dans la logistique depuis nos débuts, mais la diversification autour des différents secteurs que nous adressons aujourd’hui s’est faite dans le temps, au fur et à mesure des besoins de l’économie et de nos clients », souligne Nathalie Jean, directrice du développement pour les sites français de Katoen Natie.
Une aventure internationale et française
C’est en 1995 que le logisticien belge s’installe en France, à Seingbouse (57), entre Metz et Strasbourg. L’entreprise accompagne un client sur un site pétrochimique de 30 000 m², aujourd’hui dédié aux biens de consommation. Quelques années plus tard, en 2004, alors que Katoen Natie opère pour le compte d’une entreprise française de grande distribution de sport et de loisirs à Anvers, en Belgique, le logisticien accompagne l’enseigne vers le Sud de la France. Katoen Natie ouvre un second site à Saint-Martin-de-Crau (13), qui devient la vitrine de l’entreprise en France et y intègre petit à petit de nouveaux clients. « Nous n’avons pas vocation à nous installer partout sur un territoire. Nous définissons les localisations qui nous intéressent et nous les ouvrons via l’accompagnement d’un client. Puis, nous les développons jusqu’à en faire d’importants sites multiclients. C’est ce qui s’est produit à Saint-Martin-de-Crau en 2004. Nous sommes passés en 16 ans de 30 000 à 350 000 m² », explique Stéphane Galli, directeur général du site. Et pour cause, le site abrite également la logistique de Brico Dépôt, client historique de Katoen Natie en France depuis 2006. « L’enseigne a entendu parler de nous au travers de notre site pétrochimique du Havre. Nous avons construit un premier bâtiment à proximité de ce dernier, à Saint-Jean-de-Folleville pour Brico Dépôt, puis un second à Saint-Martin-de-Crau lorsque l’enseigne a également souhaité opérer sa logistique depuis le Sud », signale Stéphane Galli. Aujourd’hui, le groupe belge adresse depuis ses trois principaux sites français, divers secteurs d’activité allant de l’ameublement au sport, en passant par le bricolage, le discount et le fashion, aussi bien sur de la livraison magasin que e-commerce. « Notre spécialité réside finalement dans la logistique complexe. Comme nous avons l’habitude de le dire avec alinea, l’un de nos clients, nous gérons leurs flux de la bougie au canapé. Le fait d’accompagner de nombreux clients nous permet d’avoir suffisamment d’expérience et de savoir-faire pour résoudre leurs problématiques. Cette logique très orientée solutions, ancrée dans l’amélioration continue des process de nos clients, est partagée entre tous nos sites », précise Nathalie Jean. Flexibilité et confiance comme facteurs de croissance Des sites que l’entreprise veut « multiclients » et flexibles pour assurer une agilité et une adaptabilité constantes à ceux qu’elle accompagne : « Nous sommes convaincus que d’importantes plateformes multiclients, implantées de façon stratégique apportent beaucoup de flexibilité, à la fois au niveau immobilier, opérationnel, mais également RH. Lorsque l’un d’entre eux a besoin de 6 000 m² pendant un certain temps car il doit absorber plus de volume que prévu, le fait d’être propriétaire de grands sites nous permet de répondre plus facilement à sa demande ponctuelle. De la même façon, nous nous appuyons sur des équipes opérationnelles de grande taille (plus de 700 équivalents temps plein à Saint-Martin-de-Crau) capables de renforcer les activités selon leurs besoins. Avoir des sites multiclients nous permet de véritablement pérenniser les emplois », détaille Stéphane Galli. Car chez Katoen Natie, le mot d’ordre réside dans une phrase : « Our people make the difference ». Une baseline que l’entreprise veut réelle et pragmatique, à son image. Ainsi, la direction a choisi de miser sur la décentralisation et d’impliquer ses collaborateurs dans l’organisation : « Chaque client est managé en interne par des interlocuteurs locaux qui travaillent et décident de façon décentralisée. Aujourd’hui, les nouvelles générations recherchent cette autonomie, cette confiance dans leur travail. La direction de Katoen Natie souhaite laisser à ses collaborateurs la capacité à apprendre. Cela les implique davantage et renforce la confiance avec l’entreprise », soutient Stéphane Galli. Une organisation qui porte ses fruits puisque Katoen Natie affiche deux milliards de chiffre d’affaires dont 25 % sont portés par les biens de consommation. Pour y parvenir, l’entreprise s’appuie donc sur ses équipes mais pas seulement. Elle dispose d’un WMS en propre, développé par sa cellule IT en interne et reste en veille sur les innovations du secteur, tout en gardant en ligne de mire son objectif principal : la flexibilité. « Cet enjeu est ancré dans notre business model et notre philosophie. Nous recherchons donc des solutions en cohérence. Nous regardons l’automatisation, la robotisation et la mécanisation sur des process bien précis, dès lors que cela fait sens par rapport à un délai, un volume attendu ou réduit la pénibilité de nos opérateurs… Quoiqu’il arrive, ce qui compte est de rester flexible pour que, dans deux ans, les solutions logistiques mises en place évoluent en fonction des besoins de nos clients et des habitudes de consommation », insiste Nathalie Jean. Poursuivre son développement en Europe Davantage positionné comme un « partenaire stratégique », que comme un prestataire, Katoen Natie affiche en toute logique des ambitions à la hauteur des clients grands comptes qu’il accompagne. Ainsi, le groupe souhaite continuer à développer ses sites existants et notamment à Saint-Martin-de-Crau où 30 000 m² sortent actuellement de terre. Enfin, le logisticien belge, après s’être implanté en Pologne l’an passé avec son client Action, envisage désormais de nouvelles localisations sur le territoire français. Katoen Natie en chiffres : > 2,1 milliards d'euros de chiffre d'affaires monde > 140 millions d'euros de chiffre d'affaires France > Implanté dans 33 pays > 18 000 collaborateurs dans le monde > 1 400 collaborateurs en Frace > 3 sites principaux en France
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03 March 2021
Katoen Natie will invest approximately 455 million USD in the expansion of the container terminal (TCP) in Montevideo.
INVESTMENT PROJECT Last week, Katoen Natie and the Uruguayan Government reached an agreement for a new additional investment in the Port of Montevideo.  This investment project represents the maximum expansion of the concession area, including the construction of a second container yard of approximately 22 hectares in addition to the existing area, and a second quay wall of 700 mts long, dredged to fourteen meters in depth. At the two quay walls, together 1,300 meters, the company will be able to handle four container ships simultaneously, with in time 12 to 15 ultramodern ship-to-shore gantry cranes and 50 straddle carriers (and / or rubber tyred gantry cranes). The new container terminal will have the capacity to load and unload more than 2.5 million TEU per year. The execution of the project will begin immediately and will create many direct and indirect employment opportunities. After the project is completed, the Port of Montevideo will have a ”state-of-the-art” Specialized Container Terminal, which will more than double its annual capacity and will allow TCP to operate the last generation of container vessels (400m). This capacity increase and the concentration of container operations shall improve operational efficiency and reduce container costs, which will place Montevideo in a privileged position on the trade lanes of transit and transshipment containerized cargo. This new agreement allows Katoen Natie to make – for the second time - the biggest investment in the history of the Port of Montevideo, and will be the driving force for Uruguay to strengthen the strategic position of its main regional port terminal as a supplier of efficient port services, making it a reference for the port system of the Southern Cone of South America. “Terminal Cuenca del Plata is already the most efficient container terminal in South America, but with this new investment we are now positioning the terminal as an indispensable link in the list of the most important hub ports in the continent, and, at the same time, making the terminal more attractive for Uruguayan exporters”, explains Vincent Vandecauter, CEO of TCP.  “This enormous commitment confirms our trust in Uruguay as an investment country and one-of--the-places-to-be, and in the Port of Montevideo as an excellent logistics hub”, says Karl Huts, director of Katoen Natie Group.   KATOEN NATIE AND ORIENTAL REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY  Katoen Natie and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay met for the first time in the year 1996, when Katoen Natie first invested in Uruguay, purchasing part of the shares of Zonamerica. Since the very beginning, Katoen Natie was most confident in the success of offering logistics services through the Free Trade Zone system, and soon after decided to also invest in Costa Oriental. The following years confirmed to Katoen Natie that its trust in the potential and stability of Uruguay was well founded, and this was the basis for strategic decisions and more ambitious projects, which prompted Katoen Natie to make a strong commitment towards the country and its future. In 2001 Katoen Natie participated in the auction of the shares of Terminal Cuenca del Plata S.A, to manage and operate the Specialized Container Terminal in the Port of Montevideo, and, having made the highest offer, it became owner of 80% of the company’s shares. This was the beginning of a very important partnership with the Uruguayan Government to transform the Port of Montevideo in the most important regional container hub for the port ecosystem of the Southern Cone. During the first 20 years of the concession term, over USD 250 million was invested to make TCP the most modern terminal in the region.  During this period, the extension of the main quay wall, the expansion of the container yard, the acquisition of 7 gantry cranes, 48 straddle carriers, and a strong investment in next generation technology, resulted in the offering of high-quality services to our customers, and in the best productivity in the region. From 2012 onward, Katoen Natie also developed the Polo Oeste logistics park in collaboration with local partner Frigorífico Modelo SA, where together they have developed 10 hectares as warehouse space and the most advanced logistics hub for the region. Katoen Natie would like to express its great satisfaction with this agreement, which will be the pillar and starting point to definitively put Terminal Cuenca del Plata on the map as the most modern container Terminal in the region.
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01 April 2019
Katoen Natie announces major investments in the Netherlands
Chemelot Covering an area of over 800 hectares, the Chemelot site is one of the major chemical hubs in Europe and has been expanding in recent years. The integrated cluster of companies produces a variety of chemicals and performance plastics for a wide range of markets and applications. Chemelot also hosts a research campus, with over 8,000 people working on-site. Katoen Natie investments Since 2013, Katoen Natie has acquired a number of logistics terminals in Limburg. Its sites in Nuth, Born, Geleen, Elsloo, Tüddern and Maasmechelen currently employ 250 people. With the expansion, Katoen Natie will anchor its strategic presence in the region. Central to the investment is a 12 hectare green field project on the Chemelot site. Here, Katoen Natie will build a brand new multi-customer terminal consisting of 54,500 m² state-of-the-art warehouse and 207 silos. Aside from warehousing operations, Katoen Natie will offer a full range value-added services including repackaging of chemicals, purifying of contaminated products, compounding and compacting services. The Chemelot terminal is expected to be operational in Q2, 2020. In addition to the investments on-site, Katoen Natie will expand its Nuth logistics terminal with 10,000 m² of warehouse space and 60 silos expected to be operational by the end of 2019. Another plot of land was acquired at Mitsubishi Avenue in Born, where Katoen Natie will construct and operate a 35,000m² warehouse to service the automotive industry. Investments in the local transport capacity will continue over the next year. With the purchase of 115 new lorries, 45 dry bulk trailers and 10 liquid bulk trailers the existing fleet will be renewed and expanded. Gateway to Central and Eastern Europe Aside from their proximity to Chemelot, the Katoen Natie terminals in Limburg are located just a few kilometers from the Belgian and German border. This strategic location, close to the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam and with easy rail and water access, make them an ideal stepping-stone for import flows into the Ruhr area and Eastern Europe. With this expansion, Katoen Natie affirms its position as the leading logistics and industrial services provider for the chemical industry in Europe. The implantation of its logistics platform on the Chemelot site will produce significant transport savings for Katoen Natie’s existing customers and reduce overall CO₂-emissions. In total, the 100,000 m² of added warehouse capacity and value-added logistics operations will create 75 new full time jobs in the region. Katoen Natie Katoen Natie is a private Flemish enterprise and its activities consist of value add logistical services with activities in 30 countries and more than 13.000 employees. For more about Katoen Natie go to https://www.katoennatie.com/who-we-are/
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Windmills
04 January 2018
Construction of six wind turbines at Katoen Natie, Loghidden City, Kallo
Katoen Natie recently developed a 216 hectare site into an active logistics park. The area is used as a 23 MW PV plant, and now has six wind turbines with a height of 185 meters each on the limited available surface. Contribution to a sustainable environment The turbines, with a total installed capacity of 19 MW, generate about 52 GWh per year. This comes down to the yearly electricity consumption of 13.000 households. In combination with the solar panels, Katoen Natie utilizes its assets as sustainable as possible, contributing to limit CO2 emission and helping to achieve the climate targets. Partnerships in creating green energy In order to exploit a wind farm, a strict 24/7 follow-up by highly trained people and highly professional equipment is required. There we found a partnership with EDF Luminus, who is the largest windmill constructor in Belgium. Together with their manufacturer, they built six high-tech wind turbines on Loghidden City. This project is EDF Luminus’ largest one ever executed on an industrial site. A challenge One of the key requirements was to keep the site operational during the construction period. The terminal is very active, as hundreds of trucks are loaded and unloaded every day. In order to meet this requirement the largest components were delivered only just in time, and were transported during night on trailers of up to 66 meters long. In addition, the wind turbine foundations are located very close to the warehouses, which causes the least obstruction. Inauguration On December 14 2017, Deputy prime minister and minister of Employment, Economy and Consumer Affairs Kris Peeters inaugurated the six windturbines. Watch the video: construction of wind turbines at Katoen Natie Kallo
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Dallas plastics packaging facility
01 December 2017
Katoen Natie breaks ground on Dallas plastic packaging facility
Warehouse space with railroad access Upon start-up, the facility will have at least 250,000 square feet of warehouse space that may expand to up to 2.5MM square feet of space as warranted by market conditions. The space will have direct railroad acces, served by Union Pacific. Scheduled for completion in the third quarter 2018, this facility will become Katoen Natie's 20th NAFTA location. Producers will ship bulk railcars of plastic resin pellets to the warehouse where the pellets will be packaged and loaded into intermodal containers. After a short trip to the adjacent intermodal terminal, Union Pacific's Dallas to Dock service will transport the containers to ocean ports via premium intermodal service. Container availability "We are committed to providing service solutions to the petrochemical industry", said Kenny Rocker, Union Pacific Vice President & General Manager - Industrial. "Katoen Natie's Dallas location alligns with container availability, a core need of our customer base. From Dallas, Union Pacific's premium intermodal services deliver to the West Coast where producers are able to export to global destinations." "The Dallas facility will assist our customers in diversifying their export channels to global markets", said Frank Vingerhoets, President of Katoen Natie USA. Read more about it here
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Port Operations

Stevedoring services around the world are managed by the Business Unit Port Operations. This allows Katoen Natie to share its know-how and to develop a global strategy. High flexibility and productivity in a safe working environment are our main drivers to perform a variety of services. A team of well trained, motivated and highly productive people is ready to take care of your cargo, with the emphasis on quality.

In the Port of Antwerp, Katoen Natie Port Operations owns and operates two deep-sea terminals at berth 1227 and berth 345 and 1 barge terminal (berth 1510) on the right and left bank of the river Scheldt. All terminals are well equipped with mobile and gantry cranes, hoisting material for a wide range of goods, extensive fleet of forklifts, roro berths, container freight stations, rail connections and a large storage capacity. With our newest Liebherr mobile harbour cranes we can offer up to 416 mts lifting capacity (in tandem lift) for heavy lift cargo.

Furthermore, Katoen Natie is present in Montevideo, Uruguay where we manage the terminal Cuenca Del Plata. This is the only specialized container terminal of Montevideo, allowing us to handle IMO goods and provide numerous reefer connections to our clients. With our seven state-of-the-art ship-to-shore gantry cranes, we can accommodate Post-Panamax vessels up to 22 containers wide.

Finally Katoen Natie’s multipurpose terminal at Radicatel, is a river terminal located on the river Seine between Le Havre and Rouen. As an inland terminal it provides an innovative and inexpensive alternative to over-crowded deep-sea terminals, as it offers perfect capabilities to store and transfer goods from and to the hinterland. The ISPS certified terminal is well equipped for the handling of break bulk cargoes, heavy lifts, dry bulk cargoes (e.g. grain, wheat pellets), containers and has its own container freight station.