Ravago (Arendonk / Belgium; www.ravago.com), now the world’s leading distribution and compounding group, is centralising its Belgian operations at Lommel. The first phase of a new regional logistics centre is a new warehouse opened there in May 2007, covering 37,000 m² with 4,500 high-bay storage locations. The total area of the new centre is set to be increased to 70,000 m² by 2008. Customers will benefit from the new set-up, as shorter lead times and optimised transport routes will allow the company to respond to enquiries quickly and more flexibly, said Benoit De Keyser, president of Ravago Europe.

A modern storage and material flow optimisation system allows dynamic management of storage locations and fully automated stockroom control. Picking, packing and shipping is done using a barcode scanner. Around 30,000 t of goods can now be turned around each month. The Belgian-based group currently operates in more than 80 countries, employing some 4,000 people in 23 compounding and recycling plants in Europe, Turkey and the US. In 2006 it turned over 3.6m t, generating sales in excess of EUR 4.8 bn.