Success... tjes, tjes, tjes.
The little black liquorice kitties or yoghurt gums by Katjes are legendary not only amongst feline friends with a sweet tooth. The confectionary company from Emmerich in Germany is a trailblazer when it comes to vegetarian and vegan fruit gums and liquorice. 30 years ago, Katjes sought logistical support from FIEGE and both family businesses have been growing with great success ever since.
Help from the creator of contract logistics
There is much competition on the market for sweet treats. No one knows this better than Roland Nieuwenhuis. As Katjes’ Head of Logistics, it is his job to turn a bottleneck into a competitive advantage. Since 1994, the sweets maker has been counting on support from Greven to achieve this: “At the time, contracts logistics was still in its infancy. Yet FIEGE had already come up with a viable concept. That’s why we decided to change service companies back then,” recalls Nieuwenhuis, who has been working for Katjes for 26 years.
Moving the mountain
The confectionary company produces around 80 per cent of its entire product range at its main factory in Emmerich. FIEGE therefore approached Katjes with the idea of building a logistics facility directly on site. “The new warehouse is about one kilometre away from our company’s headquarters, which was of course ideal for us,” Nieuwenhuis adds.
Operations relocated to the multi-user centre in 2019. Next to incoming goods and warehousing across 32,000 square metres of space, FIEGE also handles transportation and distribution with trucks or parcel service providers, as well as parts of the company’s export sales. “Some 30,000 pallets are stored here on average. Every day sees between 700 and 900 new pallets arrive, and just as many leave the warehouse again and go out to retailers,” the Head of Logistics explains. Value-added services like repacking, labelling, quality controls and display set-up come on top.
Sustained partnership
Over the past 30 years, both the business and the trust have grown. “FIEGE is aware of the demands that come from the food market and has always proved to be a constructive partner on an equal footing,” Nieuwenhuis says. In future, the Head of Logistics wants to create an even more sustainable partnership: “Running transportation at capacity, delivery optimisation and alternative power units are central topics for us. In FIEGE, we have just the right expert on board.”
Looking to grow?
We will support you.
