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LLOYD SHOES OPTS FOR AUTOMATION
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.footwearbiz.com
Local supplier
Lloyd Shoes has said the automated warehouse project is its
second-largest investment ever of this kind, after the
construction of its main manufacturing and administration
facilities, which took place in Sulingen between 1995 and
2000. One of the points that the company has emphasised in
talking about the new logistics set-up is that it cements its
commitment to keeping an important proportion of its business
in Lower Saxony.
Furthermore, it explains that it has made a conscious effort to
award contracts for the planning, construction and kitting out of
the new logistics centre to local partners wherever possible. At
the ceremony to lay the cornerstone, Maximillian Müller said he
was grateful for the level of commitment to the project that
these local companies were able to offer, saying it would have
been “inconceivable” for the project to get off the ground
without this level of support. He also paid tribute to the backing
for the idea that Lloyd Shoes has received from the local
authorities.
History lesson
As part of the ceremony, the footwear firm enclosed a time
capsule containing a gold coin from 1888 (when the firm was
founded), a daily newspaper, and copies of the blueprints for
the project. Lloyd has said it expects work on “possibly the
biggest shoe box in the world” to be completed in 2013 to
coincide with the company’s 125th anniversary. Lloyd Shoes
says that any company that lasts 125 years must be doing
something right. In its case, it highlights its use only of the finest
materials, of its commitment to quality, fit and customer
satisfaction, as well as to fashion trends. It describes itself as
having one foot firmly grounded in tradition, and the other
stepping towards the future.
Lloyd Shoes achieved record sales of
€
118 million in 2011,
an increase of 11.5% on 2010, which was a record year itself.
In terms of volume, the company sold almost 1.8 million pairs
of shoes in 2011, an increase of 9.6% on the previous year.
Sales in Germany account for 33% of the company’s overall
shipments at the moment. Its workforce grew by 7.4% last year
to reach 1,198 people in total, 544 of them in Germany. Lloyd
currently makes 6,800 pairs of shoes a day, 1,900 of which it
makes in Germany.
Joint managing director Andreas Schaller (centre) prepares a
time-capsule for insertion into the project’s cornerstone.
CREDIT: LLOYD SHOES
Lloyd Shoes joint managing directors at the ceremony to lay
the cornerstone for the new logistics centre. Left to right:
Maximilian Müller, Thomas Wahle and Andreas Schaller.
CREDIT: LLOYD SHOES