Container terminal in the Hof Logistics Center (GVZ)Our gateway to central Europe
Since 2012,
Contargo has been operating a bimodal terminal in the city of Hof, situated at
the northernmost point of Bavaria. The location extends the Contargo network
into the eastern part of Germany, serving the regions of Upper Franconia, the
Upper Palatinate, Thuringia and Saxony with regular rail connections and truck
transports on the route to Hamburg, Bremen and Bremerhaven. Construction work
on the location commenced in 2018, and by 2022 – without interrupting
operations – the site was reconstructed and expanded into a modern container
terminal. Due to the measures associated with the pandemic, we are especially
happy to invite you today on a virtual tour.
Ample room for container handling
The terminal
of Contargo Combitrac in Hof is directly beside the shunting yard to the south
of Hof main station, only 500 metres from the city centre. Since construction
work started in April 2018, the site has been enlarged by almost 30,000 sqm
to a total of approximately 45,000 sqm, and modernized at the same
time. The number of sidings for handling trains has been increased from one to
three, the area for container storage has been completely resurfaced and now
has space for 2,000 TEU, and a new administration building has been built on
the premises. Another addition is the two portal cranes. They move containers
far less noisily that was previously possible with reach stackers. The terminal
can handle more than 100,000 TEU per year.
Click on the photos below to find out more about the project.
Click on the photos below to find out more about the project.
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Local truck transports and direct trucking
Rail transports
Sustainability at the Terminal in Hof
Other services at the terminal
How do our customers benefit?
At the terminal
in Hof our customers benefit from the new terminal structure with digital and
efficient processes. We hold containers in readiness for many different sea
carriers at the terminal, meaning that they are available fast to customers. Our
terminal has excellent transport connections including via the A9, A72 and A93
motorways. The terminal has daily connections to the North Sea ports of
Hamburg, Bremen and Bremerhaven. With services
that include the handling of reefers and dangerous goods, maintenance and repair, we offer a
“worry-free” full service package for containers. Even stuffing and stripping are
possible via our network (Contargo Network Logistics).
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Contargo
GmbH & Co. KG
August-Hirsch-Straße 3
47119 Duisburg
Deutschland
Freecall 00800 CONTARGO
info@contargo.net
Editing and realisation
Medienbüro am Reichstag GmbH
Reinhardtstrasse 55
10117 Berlin
+49 30 30872993
contargo@mar-berlin.de
Photos and drone video
René Oertel
Other photos
Contargo
Michael Farkas
LKZ Prien GmbH
Andreas Rau
Rudolf Witzig/laettaschuft.de
Translation
Anne Ray
Royalty-free music
www.musicfox.com
August-Hirsch-Straße 3
47119 Duisburg
Deutschland
Freecall 00800 CONTARGO
info@contargo.net
Editing and realisation
Medienbüro am Reichstag GmbH
Reinhardtstrasse 55
10117 Berlin
+49 30 30872993
contargo@mar-berlin.de
Photos and drone video
René Oertel
Other photos
Contargo
Michael Farkas
LKZ Prien GmbH
Andreas Rau
Rudolf Witzig/laettaschuft.de
Translation
Anne Ray
Royalty-free music
www.musicfox.com
Terminal Hof
The economic region of Upper Franconia From structurally weak peripheral position to central hub
The city of
Hof and the whole region of Upper Franconia have benefited from the fall of the
Iron Curtain in 1989. Advantages of the area include its nearness to developing
markets in Eastern Europe and the excellent transport connections. Its unique geographical
position at the meeting-point of three German states – Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia
– and bordering on the Egerland area of
the Czech Republic, makes the region a hub for east-west and north-south
transports. This benefits the Upper Franconian region, which has the second
greatest industrial density in Europe and is thus dependent on a good logistics
infrastructure. It also benefits the manufacturing industries of Hof, which have
an export share of 40 percent.
Geographical positionStrengthening the North-South Axis
The two
locations of Contargo Combitrac GmbH, Hof and Wiesau, play an important role in
serving the region. The terminal in Hof extends the Contargo network into
eastern Germany and strengthens the presence on the north-south axis to and from
the German North Sea ports. Thanks to their favourable geographical position,
the terminals give speedy access to southern and central Germany as well as the
Czech Republic and Poland. In the medium term the location is also intended to
act as a hub for East-West transports along the “New Silk Road”.
“For us, the terminal opens up a gateway to the world”Eva Döhla, Mayor of Hof
“Hof has a
long tradition as a transport node – it was linked early on to long-distance European
transports by the rail connection between Bavaria and Saxony. The fast,
economical and eco-friendly transports to Hamburg and Bremerhaven provided by
Contargo’s present high-performance terminal have opened up a gateway to the
world. Development of the Hof-Regensburg rail line also gives access to Koper
und Trieste – important ports for
transports to the Adriatic and the Middle East.”
“A strong logistics region needs an efficient infrastructure”Andreas Weinrich, Managing Director Logistik Agentur Oberfranken e.V.
“We can count
ourselves fortunate that with the Contargo terminal in Hof we have a
state-of-the-art handling facility available, enabling our strong logistics
enterprises to move with the times and look ahead by making use of the transport
mode rail, planning together with a reliable partner.”
“We can handle even bigger volumes”Thomas Löffler, Managing Director Contargo GmbH & Co. KG
“The
expansion and modernisation of our location in Hof means we have even bigger
handling potential to offer our customers. At the same time, we can shorten
processing times and reduce our customers’ carbon footprint.”
“An important step in our development”Uwe Storch, Managing Director Contargo Combitrac Hof
“As an
employer, we have also taken an important and necessary step with the modernization
and expansion of the terminal, especially for all our employees. Secure,
future-oriented jobs and the prospect of further growth give us completely new
possibilities for the location.”
“We can further optimise our quality”Florian Fischer, Terminal Manager Contargo Combitrac Hof
“The
support of new operative systems in day-to-day handling helps us coordinate the
work steps even better and make the quality of our service even better.”
Milestones
On the next
page, you can click on the circles and fotos along the timeline to find out more about
progress at the Hof Terminal.
1848
Hof’s first
railway station is opened north of the city centre
1880
A new through station is opened to the west of the city
1937
The company Spedition Pöhland is founded in Upper
Franconia
1945
Hof main station is severely damaged in an air raid by
the United States Army Air Forces
2002
Construction
work for a container terminal begins on the west side of the station
2004
Spedition
Pöhland processes one train per day at the terminal
2010-2013
Electrification
of the Saxony - Franconia Line from Reichenbach station
to Hof
2011
Contargo takes over the Pöhland-Gruppe
From 2012
Preparations
begin for a Logistics Center in Hof
2016
Plan Approval Decision
2018
The first turn of the spade
2019
Move to the new administrative building
2019-2020
Installation of the two container cranes
2022
Commissioning
of the new terminal
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1848
Hof’s first
railway station is opened north of the city centre
1880
A new through station is opened to the west of the city
1937
The company Spedition Pöhland is founded in Upper
Franconia
1945
Hof main station is severely damaged in an air raid by
the United States Army Air Forces
2002
Construction
work for a container terminal begins on the west side of the station
2004
Spedition
Pöhland processes one train per day at the terminal
2010-2013
Electrification
of the Saxony - Franconia Line from Reichenbach station
to Hof
2011
Contargo takes over the Pöhland-Gruppe
From 2012
Preparations
begin for a Logistics Center in Hof
2016
Plan Approval Decision
2018
The first turn of the spade
2019
Move to the new administrative building
2019-2020
Installation of the two container cranes
2022
Commissioning
of the new terminal
2011Contargo takes over the Pöhland Group
In
November 2011 Contargo purchased the shares of Spedition Pöhland with its
headquarters in Döhlau, Bavaria and on 20 January 2012 the takeover was
approved by the German Federal Cartel Office. This purchase strengthened the
hinterland links of the enterprise in southern and eastern Germany, and enabled
Contargo to expand its intermodal transports between Germany and the nearby
border regions of Poland and the Czech Republic.
From 2012Preparations begin for a Logistics Center in Hof
From 2012
onwards, the buildings on the freight site around Hof main station were
demolished, polluted earth and the remains of weapons from the Second World War
were removed, making 50,000 additional square metres around the terminal
available to investors.
2016Plan Approval Decision
In 2016 the
Central Franconian government granted a Plan Approval Decision with an integrated
environmental impact assessment, for Containerterminal Hof GmbH to extend the
Hof freight centre at the former Hof goods station. Thus permission for
construction was granted. The federal state government made funds of around 6.5
million Euro available.
2018The first turn of the spade
In 2018 a
symbolic groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of building for the new
Logistics Center.
2019Move to the new administrative building
In 2019 the
new office building on the terminal premises was completed, and Contargo’s
employees were able to move in.
2019-2020Installation of the two container cranes
From autumn
2019 to spring 2020, the two container cranes were built up and installed –
without interrupting terminal operations.
TrucksDirect to the customer
Thanks to Hof‘s
favourable geographical situation, southern and central Germany as well as the
Czech Republic, Poland and Austria can be accessed from here in a short time. Hof
is the place where three motorways intersect: the A9, the A93 and the A72. There
is also a well-developed road network of federal highways in all directions. Thus
containers can be transported from the terminal to the customer, and vice
versa, fast and independently of timetables. Fast processing at the terminal is
ensured by the availability of adequate parking slots for trucks and semi-automated
log-in and log-out procedures.
RailBy rail to the seaports
At the Hof
terminal nine goods trains
per week are handled on three sidings with a
total length of 1,200 meters, in preparation for the round trip to Hamburg/Bremerhaven. Since July 2020 these have been handled by the two new
portal cranes. Two reach stackers are also available for handling the
containers. Each train replaces the equivalent of 100 to 120 trucks, thus
reducing heavy traffic and emissions on the motorways.
Container service plus
Different
types of containers can be accommodated in the terminal’s storage areas. There
is room for up to 2,000 TEU, so customers can quickly be provided with the
container they need. As well as delivering empty containers and collecting full
containers Contargo also offers stuffing and stripping here, i.e. the loading
and unloading of container contents. If required, containers can also be
serviced and repaired in Hof.
Finally, the terminal offers handling of hazardous goods containers and reefer connections are available for refrigerated containers.
SustainabilityEconomy, Ecology and Social responsibility – a good combination
Sustainability
is an integral part of Contargo’s corporate philosophy. One of the core topics
is decarbonising by 2050. At the terminal in Hof only green electricity is used;
charging poles are installed for electric vehicles, and flower strips have been
laid in some areas of the terminal margins. Office work is largely paperless, and
employees can lease bicycles under the “JobRad” scheme. With neighbours in
mind, extensive noise protection measures have been implemented, including a
noise protection wall. Organisational measures for noise reduction are also in
place, for instance reach stackers are only used in the daytime, and crane
warning signals have been optimised.
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Our gateway to central Europe
Ample room for container handling
Note on use
How do our customers benefit?
Contacts and information
Legal Notice
From structurally weak peripheral position to central hub
Strengthening the North-South Axis
“For us, the terminal opens up a gateway to the world”
“A strong logistics region needs an efficient infrastructure”
“We can handle even bigger volumes”
“An important step in our development”
“We can further optimise our quality”
Milestones
Contargo takes over the Pöhland Group
Preparations begin for a Logistics Center in Hof
Plan Approval Decision
The first turn of the spade
Move to the new administrative building
Installation of the two container cranes
Direct to the customer
By rail to the seaports
Container service plus
Economy, Ecology and Social responsibility – a good combination