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Bocholt named NRW logistics location of the year 2019

Competence Network Logistics.NRW and NRW.INVEST present awards for commitment to broadband expansion for logistics

The city of Bocholt is the logistics location 2019 in North Rhine-Westphalia. Christoph Dammermann, State Secretary in the Ministry of Economics and Digital Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia, presented the award today to Bocholt's business promoter Ludger Dieckhues at the Expo Real property fair in Munich. For the ninth time, the Competence Network Logistics.NRW and NRW.INVEST, the state's economic development agency, honored the best logistics location. This year's evaluation focused not only on general industry indicators but also on the best concepts for supplying logistics with broadband connections (fiber optics).

During the award ceremony, State Secretary Christoph Dammermann emphasized: "The city of Bocholt has promoted the positive image of the entire logistics location of North Rhine-Westphalia through its commitment. Modern logistics is no longer conceivable without digitization and IT – Bocholt recognized this early on and has already initiated numerous measures to remain internationally competitive as a location in the future. In particular, the good cooperation between companies and local politicians has contributed a great deal to this."

The city of Bocholt convinced the expert jury with the most coherent concept for comprehensive broadband supply, especially for the strong local logistics sector. The focus was on local cooperation between the city, economic development, Bocholter Energie und Wasserversorgung GmbH (BEW) and local broadband providers. As early as 2012, a concept was presented to supply all industrial and commercial parks in Bocholt with broadband. In the following years, BEW laid the foundation stone for a fast broadband supply by providing large sections of the urban areas with empty conduits in order to equip them with fiber optics when required.

To date, the city of Bocholt has steadily expanded the broadband network in the industrial and commercial parks, so that all companies there are supplied with fiber optic connections. The well-known local logistics companies such as Kühne + Nagel, Fiege, WM Group, BTG Feldberg and Duvenbeck benefit from this.

"The demands placed on commercial locations have increased significantly. Optimum transport connections or a well-developed energy supply are standard. But a comprehensive broadband connection and 5G availability are questions that almost every investor has asked us – especially in the logistics sector. The city of Bocholt has made its digital infrastructure future-proof and is thus positioning itself as an efficient logistics location," explains Petra Wassner, CEO of NRW.INVEST.

"Bocholt was already the logistics location of the year in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2009. Since then, however, the city has not restricted itself to settling companies, but has actively dealt with the general conditions of increasingly digitized logistics," says Peter Abelmann, Manager of Kompetenznetz Logistik.NRW, commenting on the award. "In doing so, the parties involved have joined forces to help ensure that modern IT-supported logistics can take place in Bocholt."

The honorary award "Logistics Location of the Year" has been presented since 2009 and is primarily intended to promote the reputation of the winning location. In addition, it aims to raise awareness of the importance of the logistics sector for North Rhine-Westphalia as a business location, among both professionals and the general public.

About Kompetenznetz Logistik.NRW

LOG-IT Club e.V., the supporting association of the Competence Network Logistics.NRW, has joined forces with the Verband Verkehrswirtschaft und Logistik NRW e.V. (Association of the Transport Industry and Logistics) (VVWL) in order to further develop the former activities of the LogistikCluster NRW. New focal points such as digitization, innovation or alternative drives for medium-sized logistics are being prepared together. The project is supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitization and Energy of the State of NRW and the EU.

The aim is to bundle competencies in and around the logistics sector in NRW and to support the sector in the forthcoming structural change. The activities are open to all companies, active support of the network is possible through membership in the LOG-IT Club e.V. – currently almost 300 companies and institutions are active members.