01/02/2001 – TDS Press Release

On January 2nd, TDS/E Saarwellingen succesfully launched a new export pack plant in the Saarwellingen industry park, adjacent to the Ford Saarlouis main plant.

The core-business, the shipping of body metal parts (Ford Focus) in expendable steel racks (ESR's) to Mexico and Argentina, was awarded to TDS/E early-1999. To meet the tight time schedule for the initial launch, it was decided that TDS/E would start its operations mid-1999 from a light-construction building on the Ford Saarlouis site.

After tedious preparation, the final concept for the new pack plant in the FORD Saarlous industry park was finalized in mid-2000. To meet the ambitious relaunch date of January 2nd, 2001, the assistance was called in from two constructors, the Dutch Van Egteren BV and Belgian-based Democo NV. Completely in line with our experiences in Emden, where TDS/E had a 22.000m² building erected in less than six months (start-of-operation: June 5th, 2000), the Saarwellingen plant, comprising some 6.400m² and equiped with the latest in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), was operational in less than five months.

After a smooth launch period, TDS/E Saarwellingen expects to increase its volumes shipped during 2001 by more than 40%, not only to the existing destinations but also to new destinations such as Russia and Turkey.

Beyond this, with the new facility lying within walking distance from the A8-highway in Central-Europe and adjacent to the FORD main stream plant Saarlouis, TDS/E targets at further strengthening its position with Ford, not only in export packing, but in all it's worldwide operated core-businesses, such as sequencing, sub-assembly, line feeding and supply chain management. A further 30.000m² plot, adjacent to the currently used 20.000m² plot, confirms the intention and secures the potential for ongoing expansion.