'The new site in De Prijkels on the border of Nazareth and Deinze is 33,000 square meters,' says director Stefaan De Jaeger. '10,000 square meters of that will be used for storage, 5,000 for transshipment. In the new complex there is room for 13,000 pallets of cargo with six unloading docks. In the transshipment area there are 52 unloading quays. Adjacent to those spaces, we have office spaces that cover 500 square meters. We now have 97 employees, including subcontractors. Within the Benelux, Dematra ensures 24-hour distribution of packages and pallet shipments. Some customers call us a "four-star hotel for goods," says Stefaan.
'One of the reasons for the return is the location. Tielt is less easy to reach than Deinze. It is located on and next to the E17. Because of our growth, we needed a larger storage space. We currently have 60 distribution trucks and 5 tractors with 20 trailers. The big problem has been and remains for years finding staff for the warehouse, logistics and truck and forklift drivers.'
During a company visit by Unizo Deinze, the two managers Geert and Stefaan presented their new premises and operations to the board members.The history of Dematra began in 1976 on the Oudenaardsesteenweg and in the Kakelstraat. Father Marcel was at the base. Intermediate steps in the growth were the branches in the E3-laan and, since 1996, in Tielt, where Dematra then took over the competitor and colleague Dhont. 'Since then, we have nestled ourselves in the top five companies specialized in 'fine-meshed distribution,' say Geert and Stefaan.
"The new regulations on rest and driving hours and the growing number of firms that no longer have their own warehouse or are struggling with lack of space are now appealing to us. Hence our move to De Prijkels in a complex that is future-oriented."
