POLAND The last few weeks were a very busy period for Panattoni Europe, with the company having recently announced several new projects across Poland. The developer has started the development of a 34,000 sqm build-to-own factory for German vehicle components manufacturer IFA Rotorion in the Katowice Special Economic Zone. The plant, which will be situated on a 12.6 ha plot in Ujazd, is to be used for the production of driveshafts for Mercedes class ‘C’, ‘E’ and ‘S’ vehicles.
It will comprise a 32,000 sqm manufacturing section and 2,000 sqm of office and social space. Epoxy flooring will be installed, while the factory will be lit by 12.5 pct of natural light through skylights across the entire area of the roof. With an anticipated workforce of 90 people in the first phase and eventually 400 people by 2020, the building will have a car park for 300 vehicles and has been designed so that it could be expanded by almost 30,000 sqm. The opening of the plant is scheduled for early January 2017. “The possibility of future expansion options for the project was among the key factors, which not only determined the choice of a flexible building design but also the choice of location by the investor. Other determining factors included the motorway access and the availability of a qualified workforce. With Panattoni Europe’s experience from similar projects, the preparation phase has proceeded with great efficiency, and so the execution of the entire project will take six months,” said Marek Foryński, the managing director of Panattoni Europe’s BTS group. IFA Rotorion supplies components for such brands as Mercedes Benz, Ford, Volkswagen, GM, BMW, Porsche and Ferrari. Panattoni Europe has recently also started work on the building site of the warehouse hall for Harper Hygenics in Jakubów, near the Mińsk Mazowiecki bypass (part of the A2 motorway). The companies signed a 10-year lease in March this year. The developer is to build a hall with a warehouse area of 14,300 sqm and an office area of 774 sqm. Harper Hygienics will store, customise and produce cosmetics and hygiene products. The construction period was set at 6 months. The estimated value of the entire lease is nearly EUR 7 mln net plus service charges of PLN 5.2 mln net. JLL advised Harper Hygenics in the location search and lease agreement negotiations.
New tenants secured
The developer has also secured a number of new tenants for its projects. C.H. Robinson is to move its operations to a logistics park in Bydgoszcz, which has been delivered by Panattoni Europe, and it will lease an area of 4,360 sqm. The warehouse area in which the tenant will offer pallet repair services will amount to 4,100 sqm and its office area will be 260 sqm. Panatton Park Bydgoszcz consists of three halls with an area of 48,000 sqm. The park is partly located on the site of the former Zachem chemical factory and it has direct access to Bydgoszcz Industrial and Technological Park. For its part, La Palette Rogue, a company specialising in pallet pooling and leasing services for the FMCG sector, has leased a total of 6,300 sqm in Panattoni Park Grodzisk Mazowiecki and Panattoni Park Sosnowiec II. Axi Immo supported the tenant in the negotiations during the transaction. The company will occupy over 3,100 sqm of warehouse and office space in Panattoni Park Grodzisk Mazowiecki and a similar area within Panattoni Park Sosnowiec II. “The development of our company along with the growing demand for pallet rental in the Polish market influenced the decision to lease warehouse space in two locations crucial from the point of view of the logistics market,” said Tiago Costa, the country manager of LPR Poland. Panattoni Park Grodzisk Mazowiecki located app. 30 km west of Warsaw offers 38,900 sqm of modern warehouse and office space within two buildings, while Panattoni Park Sosnowiec II located 20 km north-east of Katowice is a new investment from Panattoni Europe in Upper Silesia, which is make up three buildings with a total area of 65,000 sqm.
Something ends, something begins
Meanwhile, Panattoni Europe has completed the manufacturing site for Kongsberg Automotive in Koluszki, in the Łódź Special Economic Zone. The truck components plant is to comprise over 5,600 sqm of manufacturing and storage space and more than 700 sqm of offices. The launch of the first production line is scheduled for September. Most of the work will be carried out with the use of industrial robots. The manufacturing and storage area features air humidity control maintained at app. 50 pct. In addition, ventilation has been improved to two air exchanges per hour up to 4m in height, while epoxy flooring has also been used. Panattoni has also invested in Łódź. The company has acquired the B1 building and 3.5 ha of development land in Łódź Business Park from Aviva Investors. The building is a small business unit type warehouse with 2,900 sqm of leasable space and 43 parking spaces. Łódź Business Park comprises two buildings, A1 and B1, which were completed in 2011. It is situated at ul. Dostawcza 3A in the southeastern part of the city.
