The two new business partners met in December to sign the contract at the FRICKE Group's headquarters in Heeslingen. This marked the official start of the cooperation between the two family-run companies, both of which are among the leading players in their industries. “With psb intralogistics, we have found the right partner with whom we can implement this large and challenging project,” said Hans-Peter Fricke, owner and Managing Director of the FRICKE Group. “In addition to their fantastic concept, the high level of vertical integration at psb was also a decisive factor for us. The majority of our future system’s elements will be designed, implemented and programmed at psb in Pirmasens. This will provide us with the necessary planning security.”
Concept puts efficiency and customer satisfaction first
The focus of the intralogistics concept for the Tholey logistics centre is a high level of automation across all storage areas and processes. The aim is to process customer orders efficiently by consolidating partial orders from different storage areas. With fewer shipments per order, customer satisfaction should be increased even further. The expandability of storage and processing capacities is also important as it will facilitate the expansion of our product range, inventory and target areas.
Almost 50 million euro investment for intralogistics
Psb will be planning and implementing the intralogistics systems at the Tholey site with closely coordinated system technology, control and IT organisation. The order represents an investment of almost 50 million euros. The FRICKE Group is investing a total of 160 million euros in the new logistics centre. The first construction phase is scheduled to be commissioned in January 2026, when the intralogistics systems will be used for the first time. Upon completion, the FRICKE Group's second logistics centre will have a total floor space of 80,000 square metres, making it comparable in logistics capabilities to the current central replacement parts warehouse at the group's headquarters in Heeslingen. Storage capacity and processing volume at the Tholey site will be significantly higher than at Heeslingen due to the highly efficient system design.