Interest in new industrial properties behind Pilsen near the D5 motorway is consistently strong. Developers are preparing more large production and storage halls. Companies that supply parts to the automotive industry are mainly interested in the buildings. In the whole Czech Republic, demand for halls from companies from the automotive industry accounts for about 60 percent. In western Bohemia, where it is close to German car companies, it is 70 to 80 percent, Pavel Sovička, CEO of the Panattoni ČR development group, which owns halls near D5 in Plzeň, Nýřany and Ostrov u Stříbra.
“Demand in the Pilsen region is entirely driven by the automotive sector. Modern plants are moving to us, great orders for subcontractors, which are then delivered to Bavaria,” said Sovička. According to him, the Pilsen region, thanks to its strong tradition of industry, leads the number of companies supplying car parts among all regions of the Czech Republic ahead of Central Bohemia, where the industry is also very strong thanks to the headquarters of Škoda Auto. According to Sovička, the north of the Czech Republic along the D8 motorway to Germany is also becoming very active after the construction of the Tesla factory in Berlin.
Panattoni is still looking for new areas for hall construction. “The clients that are here need to keep growing and bid for new contracts in order to keep production here. And if they don’t have anywhere to do it, it’s a big problem and most likely another location in Poland, Slovakia or Germany will get them and production will decline here,” Sovička said.
Panattoni is therefore preparing other projects in Úherce and Rochlov, villages outside Pilsen near D5 towards Germany. According to Sovička, there is a great cooperation with Úherce. “Next year we could start construction of a hall there with an area of around 35,000 sqm,” he said. Panattoni has an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and a zoning permit, and wants to have a building permit by the end of the year. “We are in talks with potential investors, also from the automotive sector,” he said.
Panattoni has a larger project in nearby Rochlov on land near the D5 to Přehýšov, where the Czech UDI Group is building three large logistics halls. Panattoni is now arranging to expand network capacity at Rochlov. “The EIA is being dealt with and the building permit could be ready next year,” the director said. The 70,000 to 80,000 sqm halls are to be built there in stages, but Panattoni is not yet negotiating with any investor for them.
Investors are not leaving the Pilsen region yet. But Sovička said the question is how they will be able to adapt their production to the European pressure for an ecological transformation of the car industry. “So far, it seems that we are gaining more than we are losing by this transformation,” he said.
The Pilsen region is home to the largest number of subsidiaries of German companies. However, Pilsen and the surrounding area also attracts a lot of American investors, whose community is already very strong, according to Sovička. Lear, IAC and Shape, furniture manufacturer Steelcase and, more recently, Ball, which produces beverage cans, operate there from the auto industry. “If they are successful, like the Asian community, they will bring in more American investors,” he said.
Source: CTK
Photo: Panattoni Park Pilsen West II
