Steel Solutions, a steel logistics company based in Maastricht, is in the process of expanding its storage facilities in Holland and plans to open a site in Italy either later this year or next.
The company has been operating three warehouses up to now with two in Maastricht and one in nearby Born, the biggest inland container terminal in Benelux. In addition, it has just acquired another warehouse in Maastricht, says managing director Wibo Feijen, who will also speak this week at the Kallanish European Steel Markets conference in Antwerp.
The new Maastricht warehouse has 25,000 tonnes of extra capacity for stocking coil and sheet. It is already partially operational and is being prepared to be enabled to handle up to 60,000t by the end of the year.
According to Feijen, business for independent logistics suppliers has been increasing since 2008. “Before that, the mills’ own distribution networks were much bigger than they are now,” he explains. Steel Solutions has rail connections at its main sites with five trains operating each week, “… but we could need eight,” Feijen says.
Due to increasing inquiries from customers in southern Europe the company plans to expand into Italy, where it has secured a space in Milan. It has postponed its plans for establishing a logistics hub however due to the insecurity caused by the US trade measures and their possible repercussions on Europe.
“In the light of the Trump regulations we will monitor business impact for the coming three months. If perspectives do not change intangibly we are planning to be up and running in Italy by the beginning of 2019. It is our plan to service Southern Europe from Italy as we do Western Europe from Maastricht,” Feijen says.
