Port of Kiel invests in trade links with Russia
Another warehouse for Russian forestry products was inaugurated in the Ostuferhafen on Tuesday January 9th. The Port of Kiel says the new Shed 12 was built inside just six months and represents an investment of € 1.5 million. The Managing Director of the PORT OF KIEL (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) Dr Dirk Claus said “We are investing in our trade relations with Russia and want to further cement our co-operative partnership with Jacob Jürgensen Wood GmbH.” The Hamburg-based trading company has signed a long-term rental contract for Shed 12 with the port. “We have already been working with the PORT OF KIEL for several decades and we are looking forward to this further deepening of our co-operation”, said Rolf von Loßberg, Managing Director of Jacob Jürgensen Wood GmbH. “We value highly the service which the port of Kiel is able to offer us. Smooth processing and flexible support are just two reasons why, at present, we strongly favour Kiel as a Baltic port”, he added.
The location of the new warehouse - directly next to the berth for Russia ferries in the Ostuferhafen – is also ideal when weather-sensitive forestry products need to be brought under cover quickly and stored in dry conditions. The timber business at Jacob Jürgensen has shown very strong growth in the last few years and a large part of that growth has been generated by Russian timber products. The firm is one of the biggest importers of Siberian larch in Europe and its expanded co-operation now with the port of Kiel contributes to the stable and reliable supply of timber raw materials to European industrial and commercial clients.Dirk Claus said: “With Shed 12 we are meeting a growing need, boosting productivity and further increasing quality”. The new facility boasts 5,000 m² of ground area. It is 100 m long and 50 m wide and has a ridge height of 10m. Last year well over 82,000 m³ of sawn timber products were imported from Russia via Kiel and stored in the Ostuferhafen. That was an increase of 38% over the previous year.
“Growth in the Ostuferhafen is directly related to our investment in the expansion of warehouse space”, said Dirk Claus. Inside just three years available shed area has just about been tripled and today 85,000 m² are available. Some 20,000 m² of warehousing space alone is available for Russian forestry products. Incoming sawn timber is stored for many months in Kiel before being gradually moved on for finishing in German and west European concerns. Some of the products travel from Kiel to Italy, Spain or Portugal and some overseas containers are occasionally also packed in the Ostuferhafen for destinations in Australia, New Zealand or South America. Widely diverse products are created from the processed timber – from planks to garden sheds and fencing.
About the port of Kiel
The Ostuferhafen is the Kiel fiord’s freight and logistics centre. Every day ferries of the shipping company DFDS link Kiel with Klaipeda in Lithuania. Once a week St Petersburg is also called at and in addition SCA RoRo cargo ships operate between the Swedish east coast and Kiel. Last year for the first time, 3.5 million tons of cargo were turned round in the Ostuferhafen. That’s about half of Kiel’s total annual handling. In 2017 about 150,000 tons were transported to and from Russia between Kiel and St Petersburg – an increase of 20% compared to 2016. Mainly trailers with consumer and investment goods are shipped east for on shipment to western Russia, Moscow and also as far as Kasakhstan. Siberian forestry products in particular are transported in the opposite direction for handling and storage in Kiel.
About Jacob Jürgensen
The Jacon Jürgensen Group is a leading internationally active trading company wirth more than135 years of experience on the world markets. It specialises in the marketing of forestry products: timber and timber products, cellulose and paper. It serves customers on five continents world-wide from its headquarters in Hamburg and in association with partners and offices abroad. More than 50 company employees advise customers on optimal product and service solutions.Jacob Jürgensen Wood GmbH moves more than 150,000 m³ of timber and timber products a year and has a turnover of more than €40 million. An attractive product programme is available to industry and commerce, with the emphasis on round wood, sawn timber and planed and semi-manufactured products. An important part of company activity is the import of timber products from Russia. Handling a volume of more than 600,000 m³, Jacob Jürgensen Wood is today one of the biggest European importers of Siberian larch. Extensive service packages are available to customers, ranging from tailor-made product advice to logistics, storage solutions, financing and insurance.