The construction of the first hall (Hall B) with an area of 20,000 square meters began in November last year, while the production company Amphenol Tuchel Industrial will move from the center of Ostrov to its main part. The latter is one of the major manufacturers of electrical connectors, readers, smart cards and cable harnesses. It operates in the segments of industry, automation, railways, medical technology, electromobility and mobile communications.
The company Kokiska, which runs the e-shop of the same name, rented premises with a total size of 4,500 square meters. The dynamically growing company originally from Karlovy Vary, which specializes in leisure products, will also take over 300 square meters of office space, which will be part of the lease. The date of handing over the premises to Kokiska is planned for June 2023, and up to 20 employees will be employed in the new premises, some of whom currently work in the Karlovy Vary warehouse. The developer and builder of industrial zones Panattoni is implementing the project on the Škoda Ostrov brownfield.
"Fully filling the hall before it's finished is always a good indicator of a successful project. The conclusion of the agreement with Amphenol Tuchel Industrial confirms the positive growth of established companies in the region. The last free spaces in the island hall will then be taken over by the expanding company Kokiska, which demonstrates the well-known long-term boom in the e-commerce sector. I am particularly pleased that we can help the growth of a company from the Karlovy Vary Region, which has been involved in the economic transformation of the region for 14 years," says Pavel Sovička, CEO of Panattoni for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Moving to new premises will be a milestone for Kokiska in the company's history to date. "We can realize this investment only thanks to more than ten years of work and the knowledge of our employees, with whom we have a friendly and family connection here. However, the key event for the possibility of further expansion was the entry of a strategic, long-term partner. The Swiss company Gorilla Sports Holding gave us self-confidence in the field of financing, but also new products, which are already driving our continued growth this year (which is not exactly a regular result in e-commerce in 2022). All this will contribute to the satisfaction of our customers not only in the Czech Republic, but also in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia," comments Jakub Kokštein, CEO of Kokiska, on the expansion, adding that the larger premises will enable the company to expand its scope to other of states. The new hall is designed to increase turnover from last year's 200 million to 500 million crowns in 2025-2027.
The industrial zone is being created on the brownfield site of Škoda Ostrov, in the revitalization of which Panattoni has already invested over a quarter of a billion crowns. As part of the initial remediation, 12,700 tons of hazardous waste were sorted for ecological disposal according to the type of contamination right on the premises. With its approach, Panattoni prevented the contamination of groundwater with hazardous materials that were found in many places on the site. During the demolition of the former site, 98.7% of the construction and demolition waste was recycled.
A total of two buildings will be built on the reclaimed brownfield. The industrial area also includes a larger building (Hall A) with an area of over 100,000 square meters, which, according to Panattoni, could attract one of the other growing e-commerce companies.
