Penn Elcom Expands German Operation

Penn Elcom GmbH in Germany has moved to a new 8,000 square metre premises in Elten, north Westfalen just 10 kilometres from the previous warehouse – and over double the size!

From this hub, the company distributes over 1700 product lines and hardware including 19 inch racking, flightcase components and loudspeaker elements directly to B2B and B2C customers all over Europe.

The new facility will assist the busy operation in continuing – and streamlining - the efficient and fast delivery of products worldwide which are manufactured by Penn in the UK ... for which the company is renowned.

It was imperative to stay in the same regional location explains Dennis Marco Meertens, co-MD of Penn Elcom GmbH with Thomas Mostar. “Elten is perfectly positioned for expedient onward transportation and delivery to our local and regional sales teams – a very successful model devised to best understand specific cultural needs, demands and variations - which represent a variety of different market sectors,” he commented. This made finding suitable premises that bit more challenging, however this excellent opportunity then presented itself.

The German distribution centre is set to dramatically expand the number of Penn product lines with which it deals in the coming months due to the extra space.

Penn Elcom GmbH currently has 35 full time employees, and every week receives an artic packed with 24 tonnes of new products from the UK for dispatching on to other destinations – from as far north as Scandinavia and the Baltics to as far south as Greece  and Portugal.

The new building, close to the Dutch border, was previously used for distribution, so already had substantial infrastructure in place that was of direct benefit to Penn.

Penn Elcom’s markets in Europe have remained solid over the years, and become extremely buoyant in the last two and a half, with the launch of the Penn Elcom Online sales portal at the start of 2016.

Overall, the European market is very good and sales continue to grow, so Penn Elcom GmbH is confident about the future. “It definitely looks bright!” confirms Dennis.

The move to the new warehouse in Germany was completed in four phases over the course of eight working days and involved “a lot of improvisation and lateral thinking by all involved” says Dennis, as the full sales operation had to continue at full-pace throughout the period.

With the increase in space, the new warehouse now accommodates each and every product in a premium position for picking, a task now automated and completed using electric pickers, which really speeds up this part of the process.

Having all the product lines in one place now is another massive advantage. Towards the end of the previous building’s tenure they were stored in three different locations, as over 14 years, the space was properly outgrown.

He feels that the new warehouse and systems implementation will take the company to the next levels of service and support for all its clients. Customers will notice the effects immediately and this will reinforce Penn as their first choice for reliability, high quality and expertly engineered products available from a one solution brand / supplier for all their needs.