Goodyear, a well-known American tyre manufacturer with a 125-year history, will become the first tenant in the new Panattoni Park Cheb East industrial complex. The strategic location will help the company to streamline its logistics chain and reduce its carbon footprint. The construction of the Cheb site was launched by the Panattoni development company, with Accolade Group as the investor and owner of the facility.
“I am very pleased that we are building a state-of-the-art distribution centre for Goodyear that will optimise the tyre distribution network in Central Europe. Goodyear has recently presented its vision for sustainable tyres of the future. They will not be left behind with our building, which will include heat pumps, a photovoltaic power plant and charging stations for electric vehicles. The target for BREEAM New Construction certification is set at Outstanding,” says Pavel Sovička, Panattoni’s Managing Director for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The operation at Panattoni Park Cheb East will make the transport of tyres to customers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Austria and Switzerland more efficient, but it will also facilitate transport to the Nordic countries. Goodyear hopes to reduce the distance between distribution centres and the sales network not only to streamline processes and speed up delivery times for end customers, but also to reduce the overall carbon footprint, which will help achieve optimal sustainable measures.
Goodyear’s new 80,000 square metre floor space, in which it is leasing 60,000 square metres, is targeting the highest BREEAM New Construction certification rating of Outstanding. All of the new buildings in the Panattoni and Accolade portfolios use energy-saving measures with regard to electricity, heating and water consumption. The new Goodyear hall is no exception. The building’s roof will be ready for the installation of photovoltaic panels, efficient heating will be provided by heat pumps and the facility will also feature underground grey water tanks. Electric vehicle charging stations will be located in the outdoor parking lot.
“The investment in the development for Goodyear is a nice example of several key trends that support the industrial real estate segment’s move towards a more sustainable Europe. The ambitious vision of companies to bring production and supply closer to their target markets, while also saving the planet, or perhaps even more importantly, as in the case of Goodyear, to produce as much as possible from sustainable materials and develop new technological solutions, makes us a more self-sufficient company. This also creates room for the implementation of plans for the creation and expansion of a portfolio of modern and green industrial zones where our investors will value their resources,” commented Milan Kratina, CEO of Accolade.
Cheb offers excellent transport links throughout Europe. The E42 road connecting Prague to Nuremberg is located nearby, providing a fast connection to Germany. In addition, there is also access to the l/21 road, which connects to the D5 motorway leading from Prague to Rozvadov. The accessibility of the railway corridor from Prague to Nuremberg is also an advantage. The container terminal in Hof is only 54 kilometres from the site (direct trains to the North Sea and Baltic Sea ports run from here) and the international airport in Karlovy Vary is 45 minutes away. The railway line provides connections to the border areas of Germany and the Czech Republic.
The relocation of supply chain activities is an important strategic step to further establish responsible operations under the Goodyear Better Future Framework and improved go-to-market logistics activities in the EMEA region enabled by the Panattoni industrial park in Cheb.
