Magdalena Szulc, SEGRO Business Unit Director Central Europe
Nowadays, companies attach great importance to running their businesses in a sustainable and responsible manner. What specific actions in these areas are taken by SEGRO Poland?
Our company deals with the construction and management of warehouse and production spaces, therefore this area of activities is particularly important to us from the perspective of corporate social responsibility. Above all, the protection of the natural environment is the key element, which is also often accompanied by specific economic benefits for our current and future clients. The standard of our activities is a responsible approach to the construction process itself, as well as the use of green solutions that minimize the negative impact on the environment during the subsequent use of the facility. Modern LED lightnings, which are the most efficient lighting with five times longer lifespan and half the performance of standard lighting, illuminate the space of all our newly built facilities, and for a long time have also illuminated manoeuvring areas in all our logistics parks. In some of the interiors, LED luminaires are controlled by the DALI system, which due to sensors enables switching off the light in unused aisles. In addition, by the end of 2019, charging stations for electric vehicles will appear in all of our parks. In this way, we hope to encourage our customers and their employees to change to more environmentally friendly means of transport. The last but very important element of our strategy is the BREEAM certification; all our newly-built buildings have been part of the certification process for many years. This is one of the leading international methods of assessing a development project in terms of its management economics and solutions applied in the field of sustainable development in the context of the natural environment.
Many industries are currently facing numerous challenges, such as the lack of qualified workforce. What are the biggest challenges SEGRO Poland is facing and how does your company deal with them?
The low unemployment rate we have been dealing with for a long time in Poland is a challenge that many companies face, regardless of the industry they represent. Warehouse space handling requires a large number of staff, hence our customers value so much the location of warehouses near large agglomerations and the most important transportation hubs, which will provide companies with the best possible staff base, regardless of macroeconomic conditions. The strategic location of SEGRO facilities helps our customers to acquire suitably qualified staff, as evidenced by our high retention rate of clients as well as the growing number of expansions within our logistics parks. On the employee market we are currently dealing with, it is also increasingly important for customers to offer their employees comfortable social spaces, modern conference rooms and ergonomic offices. Here, we serve our clients with many years of expertise and examples of recently completed projects with the highest standard of social and office facilities, such as the facility for AQ Wiring Systems in SEGRO Logistics Park Łódź, or for Corning Optical Communications in SEGRO Logistics Park Stryków.
The company is currently developing dynamically, the number of your facilities is increasing. What is your recipe for managing a team in such a large company?
An extremely valuable resource of SEGRO are qualified, motivated employees associated with the company and its values. A well-coordinated and committed team allows us to implement strategic plans and to constantly develop our company. Together, we build an organizational culture which primary goal is to create space that gives our clients unique opportunities to conduct their business.
Which of your recent implementations were the most important and the most satisfying and why? Maybe there is a project that turned out to be a unique challenge?
One of the recently completed development projects by SEGRO is a production and warehouse facility built for Corning Optical Communications in SEGRO Logistics Park Stryków. The building, apart from the fact that it is equipped with the latest technological solutions, was designed in such a way as to create the most comfortable working conditions. The social and office space, as well as the production part were equipped with large windows, thanks to which better access to daylight significantly improves the well-being of employees. In the production part, we used a resin floor and functional installations, such as a grid of bus-bars, compressed air and an IT installation, which allow free arrangement of production, depending on the current demand. This facility recently received a BREEAM certificate with a VERY GOOD rating. Recently, we also delivered the facility for AQ Wiring Systems in SEGRO Logistics Park Łódź. The new production hall was equipped with 8 docks and two “0” gates, and its entire space is cooled. In the office space there were constructed, among others, comfortable conference rooms equipped with a modern reservation system. For the sake of both the comfort of the staff and the natural environment, energy-efficient LED lighting controlled by the DALI system was installed throughout the entire plant. A large number of parking spaces is a great convenience for employees: there are 300 lots for passenger cars and 6 lots for trucks.
SEGRO Poland is currently one of the most active developers on the warehouse real estate market in Poland. What is the company’s investment plan for this year?
Our strategy for this year, similarly to previous years, assumes parallel implementation of new development projects, as well as development through acquisitions. In all locations where we operate, we possess a secured bank of land, thanks to which both our existing and potential customers can develop their businesses near the most important Polish agglomerations and main transport routes. We currently have particularly high development potential in the vicinity of Wrocław and Poznań, as well as in the capital city of Poland.
The warehouse market in Poland is currently developing dynamically. What in your opinion determines this trend, and how long will it last?
The dynamic development of the warehouse space market is supported, among others, by Poland’s strategic location on the map of Europe, constantly improving transport infrastructure, good economic conditions and employment costs competitive in comparison with other European countries. Moreover, the increasing number of development projects is the result of the growing awareness of individual companies as to the tasks and opportunities offered by warehouse facilities constructed in accordance with individual tenants’ expectations. With a high probability, the demand for modern warehouse space will continue in the near future, and this is also due to the growing e-commerce sector, which already amounts up to a quarter of the share in the warehouse market.
Magdalena Szulc has been associated with SEGRO since 2006, that is from the beginning of the company’s operations in the region. Since 2009, she has held the position of Business Unit Director Central Europe. She is responsible for the management of operations in the region and the implementation of the company’s strategy based on the development of logistics and industrial real estate.
SEGRO is a company with the status of Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”), is a leading owner, manager and developer of modern warehouse and production space. The company owns or manages a real estate portfolio covering 7 million m2 worth £ 11 billion, and provides its services to clients from various industry sectors. The company’s real estate is concentrated in key agglomerations and transport hubs in nine European countries, mainly in Great Britain, France, Germany and Poland.
The company began operating in Central Europe in early 2006. Currently, the developer is investing in strategic locations such as: Gdańsk, Gliwice, Łódź, Poznań, Praga, Stryków, Tychy, Warsaw and Wrocław.
Last Updated on October 29, 2020 by Łukasz