Herchenbach grows again in the rental sector for lightweight buildings

Rental warehouses combine several trends: Due to the current inflation and sharply rising interest rates, companies are looking for ways to conserve their liquidity. At the same time, there is a demand for quickly realisable warehouse constructions that can be flexibly adapted to the company's requirements and are easy to dismantle at the end of their useful life. While the majority of Herchenbach warehouses were purchased last year, this year rental warehouses account for 50 per cent - and the trend is rising.

Herchenbach significantly expanded its business in the foreign markets of France, the UK and Hungary last year. "All foreign markets grew significantly in 2023," says Apostologlou. Investing in the right personnel and the right local customer approach is paying off. "We still have our roots in the Rhineland, but we are now a European company and the move towards internationalisation continues," emphasises the Managing Director. "More European markets will be added in the next five years. The demand is there."

However, the slowdown in the German economy has not spared Herchenbach. "After two very strong years in the past, we also had growth targets for this year in the German market, but we haven't achieved them all," explains Apostologlou. One reason: companies are postponing investments. The company used the past year to improve processes. "We also have the potential to grow in existing markets," explains Apostologlou. "Our organisation is ready for this."

The company is therefore optimistic about its anniversary year: Herchenbach will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2024. For customers, this means that they are dealing with a company with many years of experience in warehouse construction. "For example, we know exactly how the building authorities work because we have worked with a wide variety of building authorities," says the Managing Director. This means that Herchenbach can not only provide customers with optimum support, but can also take over the entire building permit process on request. The in-house engineering department has developed patented solutions for fire protection. "We don't just build warehouses, we offer the complete service," says Apostologlou.

Herchenbach 2023 has significantly expanded its customer service. "We have taken our service to a whole new level," says the Managing Director. As more and more warehouse projects have been realised in recent years, the demand for warehouse extensions, relocations and conversions has also increased. "Customers' requirements for their lightweight warehouse can change over the years. Accordingly, it is important to be able to respond quickly and competently with our customer service," emphasises Apostologlou. "Warehouse construction with added performance" has long since become a hallmark of the company.

Big step towards sustainability

The company took a big step towards sustainability in 2023. Thanks to further development of the product, optimised processes and improvements in assembly and dismantling, 85% of the parts are now reused in the next warehouse construction. According to the management, this is not the end of the story: "Our goal is to recycle well over 95%".