In-Time Expands Hazardous Material Offerings in Buchholz/Nordheide

With a new CO₂ extinguishing system, In-Time Transport GmbH expands its offerings for hazardous material logistics in the southern Hamburg area. A logistics area of 10,000 m² provides 12,000 pallet spaces for the storage of various hazardous materials. Two storage sections of 1,500 m² have now been equipped with the new extinguishing technology.

(Buchholz/Nordheide) Thanks to the new CO₂ extinguishing system, In-Time can now also store hazardous materials from storage classes LGK 3 and LGK 10, as well as aerosols from LGK 2B and LGK 4.1B. For this purpose, two areas of 1,500 m² with a total of 7,500 pallet spaces are available. The investment costs for the new extinguishing system amount to around two million euros. It was approved in early April in accordance with the Federal Immission Control Act.

Hazardous Material Logistics from the Hamburg Metropolitan Region

In 2018, In-Time built a new facility south of Hamburg in the Trelder Berg industrial area and opened its first hazardous material warehouses. This year, the logistics facility was expanded. On more than 30,000 m² of storage and logistics space, other sensitive goods such as food, pharmaceutical products, and medical technology are also stored. The company has invested a total of around 32 million euros in the energy-efficient buildings.

The area for hazardous materials covers a total of 10,000 m². In four hazardous material cells, disinfectants, paints, varnishes, essential oils, and other flammable liquids, as well as petrochemical products and chemical gases, are stored safely. These substances are used in the chemical industry, the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and biotechnology sectors, in machinery and plant engineering, as well as in plastic production and cosmetics manufacturing. In-Time’s customers mainly come from northern Germany, using the warehouse for transshipment within Europe and worldwide.

Special Technology for 11,000 Tons of Hazardous Materials

The two hall sections with the new CO₂ extinguishing system are primarily used for the storage of products from LGK 3 (“flammable liquids”) and LGK 10 (“flammable liquids that do not fall under any of the aforementioned LGK [1–9A]”). Additionally, aerosols from LGK 2B and LGK 4.1B are also stored here. To store products from these LGK, a CO₂ extinguishing system is mandatory. In other storage areas, rack and ceiling sprinkler systems are used.

Furthermore, the entire hazardous material warehouse is equipped with special floors for leak and extinguishing water retention, slide valves to protect groundwater and sewage systems, automatic gates, and state-of-the-art safety technology. Alarm systems trigger audible and visible warning signals in case of fire. This is particularly important for the two storage sections that are flooded with CO₂: In the event of a fire, the gates automatically close after a short time, CO₂ is released, displacing oxygen and extinguishing the fire. The carbon dioxide is supplied from a CO₂ tank located outside the hall. This tank is mounted on a calibrated electronic weighing device that immediately indicates when extinguishing agent is escaping.

Thanks to these structural and technical requirements with a modern extinguishing system concept, In-Time can store nearly 11,000 tons of hazardous materials from storage classes 2B, 3, 4.1B, 5.1A+B, 6.1A–D, 8A+B, and 10–13 according to TRGS 510 on various shelf levels. The warehouse meets the requirements of water hazard classes 1–3.

Complying with Hazardous Material Regulations with LVS Software

The requirements for hazardous material storage also include quantity limits and storage bans according to TRGS 510. To comply with the prescribed quantities and separate storage requirements, In-Time uses the DILOS software solution from REMIRA as its warehouse management system (LVS). “This allows us to plan in advance where new products will go before they arrive. And we know in advance whether we can accept them based on existing quantity thresholds or if we need to postpone the storage,” explains Jonas Gienow, project manager at In-Time. “Additionally, the DILOS system exports a daily report on current hazardous material stocks to the local fire department. So we are taking every precaution.”

Photo: © inTime / Image Caption: CO₂-area valves. Here, the flooding and holding flooding are controlled, and the CO₂ is odorized.