Global manufacturer Henkel has completed a three-year, $70 million expansion and automation upgrade at its 1.4 million-square-foot Bowling Green, Ky., logistics center, creating its largest and most technologically advanced logistics operations center in North America.
The upgrade at the logistics hub incorporated Industry 4.0 innovations to help optimize storage space, improve efficiency and drive digital automation. The logistics center now has the capacity to store 200,000 pallets, up from 88,000, and allow up to 1,000 trucks a day to go through, compared to 200 before the upgrade. The new digital automation capabilities strengthen the resilience of the Henkel chain and will help the manufacturer proactively respond to dynamic market conditions.
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The state-of-the-art facility supports Henkel’s Laundry & Home Care and Beauty Care production, storage and distribution of such brands as Persil, Purex and all laundry detergents, Snuggle fabric softeners, Schwarzkopf hair care and Dial soaps.
Mark Fratamico, vice president, laundry supply chain operations, North America, said in a prepared statement that the increased automation will allow the company to provide efficiencies and superior customer service. He said it will also help retailers meet consumer demand and increase operational agility so the company can continue to respond to a rapidly changing business environment.
Dirk Holbach, corporate senior vice president, global supply chain, said in prepared remarks, Henkel will use the data from the digital transformation to gain additional insights and help improve decision-making throughout its supply chain.
Henkel operates the logistics hub and 2.3 million-square-foot manufacturing facility from the same campus at 385 Southwood Court in the South Central Kentucky Industrial Park in Bowling Green. In August 2019, Henkel partnered with packaging supplier ALPLA to invest more than $130 million in infrastructure and equipment for a new bottle production area totaling more than 170,000 square feet at the plant. These investments were made to increase efficiency, create capacity for growth and drive energy savings at the plant, which was then 25 years old. Prior to the 2019 investment, Henkel spent more than $100 million in upgrades to the plant.
North American presence
Henkel has approximately 9,000 employees at nearly 70 sites across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, who manage three business units: Adhesive Technologies, Beauty Care and Laundry & Home Care. Read also : The United States implements the Taiwan Strait under tensions with China. In addition to consumer products, Henkel markets industrial brands in North America.
The company’s consumer products headquarters is located at 200 Elm St., in Stamford, Conn. Henkel signed a lease with former owner Building and Land Technology in 2017 for 155,000 square feet of space at the Stamford building.
In December 2021, 200 Elm Partners BH LLC, a unit of A.M. Property Holding II Corp. and Northeast Capital Group, acquired BLT’s approximately 557,600-square-foot Class A office complex for a reported $235 million. It was the largest deal of 2021 and one of the largest real estate transactions in Connecticut over the past decade. In addition to 200 Elm St., the complex includes 695 E. Main St.
