"Park15 will be a business park where people take pleasure in their work,” assures Bart Franssen, who is responsible for the new business park within GiesbersGroep. Park15 enjoys a unique location between Arnhem and Nijmegen, just off the A15 motorway (with its own motorway junction). Possibilities for transhipment to rail or waterway transport are just a stone’s throw away.
The first business is already established at the site – and it is not a small one either. In a turnkey project, GiesbersGroep has created the European distribution centre (EDC), nearly 62,000 m² in size, for Nabuurs Supply Chain Solutions. Nabuurs uses the new distribution centre as a Shared Service Centre for a number of clients, including Kraft Heinz, SCA and Mars. The EDC was delivered on schedule at the end of 2016 and has 300 employees. “Such a business park has a very positive impact on regional employment opportunities,” notes Bart Franssen with satisfaction.
In discussion
A second large company is expected. Supermarket chain Lidl is going to establish a base at Park15 from which it will supply its stores in the east of the Netherlands. And Jaguar Landrover dealer Terlouw has opened an establishment in the park. Bart Franssen emphasises that both large companies and SMEs are welcome on the site. “Park15 offers plots from 1,000 to 100,000 m2. We are in discussion with a great many parties. They are large logistics companies, but they can also be smaller firms from the region. Now that the economy has the wind in its sails again, many companies are considering a new, more spacious home for their business.” Sustainability is increasingly important in these considerations. Park15 is 85 hectares in size and to date, 26 hectares have been taken up.
According to Bart Franssen, Park15 is distinctive in three areas: as a pleasant work environment; due to its exceptional integration into the landscape; and due to sustainability.
Dialogue
The construction of Park15 was only begun after an intensive dialogue with environmental groups, local residents and companies. Among other things, this led to the existing orchard near the site being expanded by 3 hectares. “The orchard is freely accessible and every year a local musician gives a concert there,” says Bart Franssen. Dikes planted with vegetation have been built between the nearby village and the business park, so that people in the surrounding area are not aware of the site. As a result, Park15 is situated attractively in the landscape and there is sufficient space for people in the area and business park employees to go walking. Cycle paths criss-cross the area and link the northern part of Nijmegen with the future landscaped De Danenberg park. Because the business park is close to Arnhem and Nijmegen, employees can reach their workplace quickly, even by bicycle.
Sustainability
In addition to the work environment and integration into the landscape, sustainability is a distinguishing feature of Park15. “Raw materials are running out and for this reason sustainability is an obvious choice for us,” says Bart Franssen. This is fundamental to Park15: for example, the park is arranged in such a way that rainwater can drain back into the soil, just as it did before the park existed. But there is more. Four wind turbines will provide companies with energy, and on the companies’ roofs, out of view, there is room for solar panels. There are currently plans for a 6-hectare solar array on the next building. Cooperation is also a priority. Surplus heat that companies such as Lidl will have available in future (cold stores give off a lot of heat) can be used by another company for heating its premises. According to Bart Franssen, Lidl is setting an example with its new building. The combination of sustainable measures for generating and storing energy makes the company’s building completely climate neutral.
Efficient and optimally accessible
Bart Franssen mentions yet another sustainability feature. The large logistics companies work for a number of producers. The large scale of the buildings enables them to combine these different products under one roof, but it also meets the needs of the e-commerce market. They are therefore able to load their trucks with a combination of products and are not obliged to make a separate journey for every single consignment. This makes a great difference to the number of truck kilometres, which generates revenue and also reduces CO₂emissions. Towns and cities are happy, as it means less HGV traffic. By using the existing BCTN barge terminal in Nijmegen and, in future, the rail terminal on the Betuwe route, a further reduction in CO₂ emissions will be achieved. Combined with the direct connection with the A15 motorway, this makes Park15 a real multimodal business location. Bart Franssen also thinks it is possible that logistics partners will join forces at Park15 in order to work even more efficiently.
Publication: Het Ondernemersbelang Nijmegen-Rivierenland
Text Paul de Jager
Photography: Istar Verspuij
