Together with Minister President Anke Rehlinger, Minister of Economic Affairs Jürgen Barke, District Administrator Udo Recktenwald and Mayor of Tholey Andreas Maldener, owner and Managing Director Hans-Peter Fricke laid the foundation stone for the first construction phase, which is scheduled to go into operation at the end of 2025. With a floor space of 86,000 square metres when fully completed, the Group's second logistics centre will have similar dimensions to the central warehouse at the main site in Heeslingen, Lower Saxony. FRICKE will be able to store up to 300,000 items in Tholey when fully expanded. The family-owned company is investing around 160 million euros in the new site.
"We are continuing the 100-year growth story of our family business today. It's a project close to my heart and a huge step for our company," says Hans-Peter Fricke. The new warehouse will supply around 10,000 customers in southern Germany and southern Europe. A high degree of automation will ensure that up to 9,600 parcels can be dispatched every day. The workstations will be ergonomically designed in accordance with the standards of the German Sustainable Building Council.
FRICKE relies on skilled labour from the region. "Technology makes processes more efficient, but it is worth nothing without the people who operate it," says Fricke. The company is recruiting 200 employees for operations after completion of the first construction phase at the end of 2025. Around 600 new jobs will be created in the full expansion phase. In addition to employees with professional experience, FRICKE also offers trainees and dual students a career start with prospects.
On Monday, Hans-Peter Fricke also emphasised the support of politicians and authorities at state and municipal level: "If you ask me, we need more 'Tholey Spirit' in Germany. I was deeply impressed by the commitment of the state government, the municipality and the people here. As a family business, we feel very much at home in this spirit of commitment." Under the leadership of Hans-Peter Fricke, the group of companies has developed into a leading global distributor of spare parts over the past 30 years and agricultural technology with over 3,750 employees.
Minister President Anke Rehlinger said: "The foundation stone of the new logistics centre in Tholey has been laid. This is a great signal for the region. Around 200 new jobs will open up new opportunities and a bright future away from the big cities. From its base in Schaumberg, the Lower Saxony- headquartered company aims to better supply its southern German customers and strengthen its business relationships in southern Europe. With its location in the heart of Europe and short distances to other markets, Saarland scores highly with modern companies that want to continue to grow."
Minister of Economic Affairs Jürgen Barke emphasised: "The establishment of the internationally successful FRICKE Group in Tholey once again proves the attractiveness of our business location. Saarland has once again prevailed against other regions in Europe-wide competition. Companies such as the FRICKE Group expand the portfolio of the Saar economy and offer future-proof jobs. This establishment will provide further impetus for growth in North Saarland and make an important contribution to local value creation. I am delighted that we have been able to support this project with more than two million euros from state and federal funds in order to open up new economic prospects."
Andreas Maldener, Mayor of the municipality of Tholey, also thanked the FRICKE Group once again for its decision to settle in the BAB1 industrial estate: "This sends out a real signal from the municipality of Tholey that will have an impact far beyond our region. It is an important day not only for the economic strength of the municipality of Tholey, but also for that of the Saarland, which played a key role in supporting the settlement. I am proud of this. I would like to thank the entire FRICKE Group, in particular Hans-Peter Fricke, Dr Herbert Stommel, Head of Logistics, and Andreas Meinert, Site Manager, for their close and trusting cooperation at all levels. You can feel right across the board that a family business is at work here."