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When the “MSC Oscar” called at EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven at the end of November 2017, this marked a première for the Gries Deco Company. It was the first time that containers transporting the lifestyle and furnishing specialist’s Christmas articles were imported through the Wilhelmshaven terminal. Gries Deco Company currently operates more than 500 DEPOT branches in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, employs a workforce of around 8,000 and generates revenues in the region of 600 million euros. Dr Patric Spethmann, who as Gries Deco’s managing director is responsible for the retail group’s supply chain, was satisfied with the handling process. “The Wilhelmshaven terminal delivered a very positive performance. The handling operations and the good rail links to the hinterland were persuasive.”
By its own account, Gries Deco Company imports some 7,000 TEUs annually via ports in the Hamburg-Antwerp Range. The retailer’s logistics specialists are continually looking for ways to improve its transport processes, however. “Only a given number of ports will be able to accommodate the ever-larger container ships going forward. Our goal is to continually optimise our supply chain. In the medium term, Wilhelmshaven will play an increasingly important role in this strategy,” says Dr Spethmann.
