The Weerts group is building a 68,000 m2 logistics hub in the Garocentre Park in La Louvière
Following the acquisition of a 16-hectare site in the heart of the Garocentre multi-modal platform last May, the Weerts group will begin the construction of its hub, which will measure over 68,000 m2, by the end of the summer.
An ambitious project
An investment of €30 million for an ambitious project that will integrate sustainable technologies and will facilitate the creation of at least 250 direct, stable and high-quality jobs on the site. A call for diverse profiles and recruitment that is primarily focused on the region itself have been announced. The presence of a training centre for professions in the logistics sector in the Garocentre should be a helpful asset in the search for candidates.
The project concerns the construction of three next-generation logistics warehouses in the IDEA Garocentre intermunicipal business park. The group's logistics division (Weerts Supply Chain) will be the main occupant of this space. An initial building should be erected by the end of 2023, with the works planned to end in 2024.
The company already owns two other logistics hubs in Liège and Tongres. Thanks to this new site in La Louvière, Weerts will have a solid foundation in Hainaut province and will enjoy an ideal location at the heart of the European motorway network that connects Lille, Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, among others. Moreover, the hub will be only twenty hours away from the Port of Antwerp by waterway.
The site will be used as a platform for storing, handling and shipping containers by road, rail and waterway. The infrastructure will offer great flexibility in terms of operations, as well as the type of goods that can be processed here.
A sustainable project?
Based on the group’s desire to carry out projects in a sustainable, respectful and innovative manner. The Garocentre project aims to have the smallest carbon footprint possible, with the Weerts group aiming to receive a score of five out of six for BREEAM certification, in order to get the environmental aspect of their project certified.
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method): a British certification standard concerning the environmental assessment of buildings. It is the most widely recognised certification internationally.
This aim involves installing wind turbines and solar panels, using insulating materials and heat pumps and creating charging stations for electrical vehicles. The exterior layout is also planned to be amenable to local flora and fauna.
Another project for the group in Wallonia?
The AMS South site in Charleroi has been the subject of a plan to sanitise it, make it usable and open it up in recent years, resulting in the creation of a business park that is primarily focused on food logistics. Thanks to its location near the centre of Charleroi, the site will be particularly useful as an urban supply centre (City Logistics).
The Weerts group and the Autonomous Port of Charleroi have joined forces to develop a warehouse complex for logistics and storage on this site.
The Weerts group will set up there and develop state-of-the-art warehouses on a concession measuring 180,000 m2 in area.
Like the Garocentre, this project is part of the group’s vision of developing sustainable multi-modal hubs. Yet again, the aim will be to obtain a score of 5 for BREEAM certification in order to reduce the company’s carbon footprint as much as possible.
The group is further bolstering its position in Belgium and Europe and the project is already being marketed, with various national and international stakeholders expressing interest.
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