The warehouse will offer a total of 27,000 temperature-controlled storage spaces for pallets after expansion – up to now 13,000
– Logistics service provider builds new special areas for hazardous goods and narcotics
– Certification according to GDP and TAPA standards
– Thanks to bonded warehouse, transit goods can be temporarily stored without paying customs duties
– Sustainability: photovoltaics, LED lighting, heat pump, rainwater cistern
(Aalst, Belgium) Logistics service provider Movianto, which specialises in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, is expanding its existing site in Aalst, Belgium, and is more than doubling its storage capacity there. “Currently, we can store a total of around 13,000 pallets in Aalst in temperature ranges of 15 to 25 degrees Celsius, 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, minus 20 degrees Celsius and minus 80 degrees Celsius. After the expansion, this figure will rise to 27,000,” says Patrick Verkuijlen. The Managing Director for Benelux expects the expanded operation to be up and running in May 2026. “The hall is already in place, and work on the interior design has been started.” Much of the remaining time will be spent on quality management, for example through temperature mapping in the warehouse or certification in accordance with EU rules for Good Distribution Practice (GDP) for medicinal products and certification in accordance with the strict security rules of the shippers’ organisation TAPA. “That’s one of the most demanding things you can do,” adds Verkuijlen. “It goes far beyond ISO 9001 or other safety regulations and requires things like video surveillance, complete fencing, and access controls.”
With the expansion, Movianto will also expand special services in Aalst. “We are building new separate areas for hazardous goods and narcotics.” The number of employees will also grow. Currently, 100 people are employed in Aalst, and after the expansion, this number is expected to rise to 150.
Aalst as a gateway to Europe – and a duty-free transit warehouse for goods in transit
Similar to Movianto’s second Belgian site in Houdeng-Goegnies, the Aalst site is playing an increasingly important role for international and global logistics chains in Movianto’s logistics network. “On the one hand, non-European clients use Belgium, with its favourable tax and geographical conditions for companies, as a gateway to Europe. On the other hand, Aalst is also used as a transit centre,” explains Verkuijlen. “For example, goods produced in the USA arrive there. Some of these goods are delivered within the EU, while others go to Asia or non-EU countries such as Switzerland or Norway.” Movianto also offers customs clearance for EU imports and exports, and transit goods can be stored duty-free in Aalst because the site is licensed as a bonded warehouse.
Sustainability: PV system, heat pump, LED lighting, rainwater cistern
To enable environmentally friendly and economical operation, Movianto in Aalst will be using a rooftop photovoltaic system, which among other things, will enable the company to cover half of its projected electricity consumption at the expanded site itself. Previously, the figure was 30 per cent. A heat pump is used to heat and cool the facility. It is powered by natural CO2 as a refrigerant, which is non-toxic and non-flammable. Highly efficient LED lamps save electricity. Rainwater is collected in a cistern and used, among other things, for flushing toilets. In order to seal as little land as possible, all parking spaces are paved with stones that allow rainwater to seep through.
Movianto can now look back on 17 years of pharmaceutical logistics in Belgium. In 2008, the French logistics service provider CSP, which now belongs to the Movianto Group, started operations in Houdeng-Goegnies. Just one year later, Movianto took over the Belgian company Dirk Raes, first based in Drongen, then in Aalst. There, Movianto built a completely new logistics centre in 2016, which is now being expanded for the second time.
About Movianto
Since 2020, Movianto is a part of the Walden Group. With its one-stop-shop service for the distribution of healthcare products, Walden is today Europe’s market leader for logistics and transport in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry. Movianto strives to be the preferred European logistics partner for this industry and to provide the best service for pharmaceutical and biotech products, medical devices, and diagnostics. As an outsourcing partner along the logistics chain for such products, Movianto offers temperature-controlled warehouse logistics and transport, as well as complete solutions such as order to cash. Movianto’s international customers benefit from a Europe-wide network, a broad range of pharmaceutical logistics services, unique industry expertise, and standardised processes in accordance with quality standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 13485. Movianto employs more than 3,700 people, has over 600,000 pallet spaces in its network of 23 own logistics centres in eleven European countries and operates throughout Europe. www.movianto.com
About Walden
Founded in 1951, the Walden Group is a French family business and European market leader for supply chain solutions in the healthcare sector. It focuses on two areas of expertise: logistics and transport of healthcare products (with Movianto for logistics, Eurotranspharma for last-mile temperature-controlled transport and Transpharma International for first-mile transport) and express transport (with Ciblex, DPXS, Eco course Optic and Relais Colis). To support these activities, the subsidiary Walden IT Solutions develops tailored to the specific needs of the Group’s customers.
The Group is present in 15 countries (France, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Morocco, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and India). It achieved a turnover of 2.6 billion euros in 2022, employs more than 6,000 people at over 250 sites and manages almost one million square metres of warehouse space.
www.walden-group.com
Photos (free for editorial use):
The rooftop photovoltaic system will enable Movianto to cover half of its projected electricity consumption at the expanded site in Aalst with electric energy coming from sunlight.
Contact for press enquiries:
Laure Murat (she/her)
Movianto Communication
Tel +33 7 60 94 88 01
laure.murat@walden-group.com
Ludwig-Michael Cremer (he/him)
external press office Movianto
Tel +49 7071 640 315
team@log-pr.de
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