The logistics company Gefco uses drones in its Slovak warehouse in Zavar near Trnava to take stock inventory. In the first phase, the drones will provide inventory on about a third of the area of the building with a total area of 10,000 square meters for a client from the automotive industry. The investment should return to the company in about a year and a half. Above all, Gefco expects process automation to significantly speed up and streamline inventory.
Clients' interest in new industrial premises in the Czech Republic continued to grow significantly last year. Thanks to high demand, which reached a record 2.39 million square meters in gross terms for the whole of last year, the vacancy rate for industrial premises fell to 1.63%, which is a historic low. The result was also affected by the lower volume of completed industrial properties due to the impact of anti-pandemic measures. However, this changed at the end of the year, when up to 800,000 square meters of industrial space were under construction. The acute need to feed the tenants' enormous demand is also evidenced by the fact that the share of speculative construction has increased again after a longer period of time.
CTP, the largest listed logistics and industrial developer and operator by gross lettable area (GLA) in the EU, is constructing a 60,000m2 unit at CTPark Bor for U.S. sector giant GXO Logistics Inc, which has taken a lease on the property in this fast-expanding transport hub close to the western Czech/German border and the main highway linking Prague to Germany’s southern industrial heartland. The GXO facility will serve as automated fulfilment centre for zooplus, Europe’s leading retailer of online pet food and accessories and brings the CTPark Bor to full capacity, which at 616,000 m2 of GLA is the second largest in CTP’s total 7.1 million m2 portfolio and its largest in the Czech Republic.
Industrial Research Forum Announces Industrial Market Figures for Q4 2021: Modern industrial stock in the Czech Republic surpassed 9.6 million sq m. Half of the space currently under construction is in the Olomouc, Pilsen and Moravia-Silesia regions. Currently, more than 1,100,000 sq m of A-class warehouse is under construction. In the 4th quarter, almost 480,000 sq m of industrial space was newly leased, surpassing last quarters record-high levels. The vacancy rate dropped by 36 basis points compared to the previous quarter and by 251 basis points compared to Q4 2020. Prague’s average highest achievable rent has again increased to the new level of €6.00 per sq m per month, with a few special offers starting at €7.00 per sq m per month. As of now, prime rents are subject to a further increase in the upcoming months.
Contract logistics provider GXO Logistics has signed a new multi-year contract with zooplus, a pet food and supplement retailer operating in 30 European countries. The contract includes the design, implementation and operation of a new automated distribution center in Bor u Tachova. The new center will enable zooplus AG to meet the growing demand in Central and Western Europe.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Panattoni began construction of two halls with a total lease area of 26,000 m2 in a new industrial zone - Panattoni Park Týniště. Half of the first hall with a size of approximately 16,300 m2 was leased by the logistics company CS Cargo, which will start operating the warehouse of the Czech brand of household appliances Concept here. The remaining premises with an area of less than 18,000 m2 are being built by Panattoni in cooperation with the DRFG investment fund on a speculative basis, ie without pre-secured tenants.
Honeywell will build a research and development testing center for its warehouse automation activities. The site, which will be located on the Honeywell Technology Solutions (HTS) campus in Brno, will help meet the growing demand for building faster and more reliable supply chains.
