Neele-Vat at RTL news

Golden times for warehouses: companies store extra inventory

There is still much uncertainty about how brexit and its aftermath will play out. British companies are taking the safe bet and storing extra stock in Dutch warehouses. Entrepreneurs with storage space are doing good business.

Cuno Vat's warehouse in the port of Rotterdam is full to the brim. British goods, that is: from proteins used in gyms to toys and food.

It is one of many warehouses where manufacturers, wholesalers and importers can rent space to store stuff. At family-owned Neele-Vat alone, they have 50 soccer fields of storage space, which is in high demand in times of brexit.

Increasing demand

"After the summer, there was increasing demand from British customers," Vat says. "Those companies are worried: will we soon have fast, good access to our customers in Europe?"

"It is very busy at the warehouses," Bart Jan Koopman, director of entrepreneurs' association Evofenedex, also observes. "Companies are trying to get ahead of the problems that may arise after March 29. It is uncertainty trumps all sectors dealing with England, and it will stay that way for a while I'm afraid."

Long waits prevented by Brexit

One of the fears: a hard brexit involving long waits at customs. British companies are therefore already bringing their goods to the Netherlands as much as possible, and vice versa, Koopman observes.

"It's very difficult to prepare for all scenarios," he says. "One of the things you can at least do is put a little stock

hook up and adjust your production accordingly. These are golden times for those who rent out warehouses."

There are also concerns. For example, Vat explains that his company also has a very large transportation arm. "We transfer 20,000 shipments a year from Rotterdam to the United Kingdom. What will happen to that in the near future, and what will it mean for our customs departments? We have a lot of work to do there, too."

Source: rtlnews.com