dnata’s €200 million investment in a fully automated cargo center in Amsterdam will trigger off the move of Schiphol Airport’s cargo activities to a new dedicated zone, Schiphol Cargo City, says Air Cargo Netherlands Managing Director, Maarten van As.
“Of course, we have known for some time that dnata, as well as KLM, will move from the present Oostbaan runway to the eastern runway of the Kaagbaan. First of all, I would like to
congratulate dnata on their plans for their state-of-the art center,” says Mr van As.
“This is, in our opinion, the first step to a dedicated cargo zone at Schiphol, where all the handlers will be lined up and where all the players within the logistic chain will collaborate in
systems (digital check-in, automatic nomination, gate planning with the handlers, etc.), and agreements which will make the air cargo chain at Schiphol extremely efficient and predictable.”
19,000 m²
The new center, named ‘dnata Cargo City Amsterdam’ at Schiphol South-East, will boast some 19,000m² warehousing space, and be able to handle over 850,000 m² tons of cargo annually. It will be
equipped with 2 separate automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), produced by Lödige Industries, supported by 12 stacker cranes.
Lödige will also provide 7 automated guide vehicles (AGV), which will be applied for the first time on a large scale in this project. In AMS, dnata handles some 580,000 tons of cargo each year,
which represents a market share of around 40%.
Investment in Brussels facility…
In January 2021, the company took on some additional capacity in its Brussels warehouse, increasing the size of the facility by 3,000 m² to 7,000 m². dnata says that it is looking at ways to
further expand its available capacity.
dnata was granted the third license for cargo ground handling in Brussels in 2019. Since then, the company has also invested in additional cool storage facilities, freighter ramp handling
equipment, and mechanical handling equipment at the facility.
… followed by Cologne?
This investment includes a new ETV system (X-mover), and 52 temperature controlled (2/8 C° – 15/25 C°) air cargo pallet storage locations. In Brussels, dnata handles 80,000 tons of cargo
annually, which translates into a 13% market share. It also operates Brussels Airport’s Animal Care & Inspection Centre (ACIC), which received its CEIV Live Animals certification last
week.
Rumors have it that dnata is also interested in Cologne-based Wisskirchen Handling Service GmbH. dnata told CFG that it will not comment on rumors. Wisskirchen’s owner, Oliver Hellwig echoed the
statement.
The CBCC (Cologne Bonn Cargo Center), was completed in 2009. It is equipped with 34 truck docks and offers a handling and storage area of 12,000 m2.
Marcel Schoeters in Amsterdam
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