HHLA AG advances automation of Germany’s largest container terminal in Hamburg with HEUKING

A team led by Dr. Andreas Walle, Partner at HEUKING, legally advised Hamburger Hafen und Logistik Aktiengesellschaft (HHLA AG) on automating the Burchardkai container terminal and represented the company in all reconciliation of interests and social plan agreements. After a process lasting around two years, all agreements were signed in their final versions on June 27, 2024. They will initiate the largest automation project in the history of the German port industry.

HHLA AG is the holding company of Germany’s leading port logistics group, offering a comprehensive range of logistics services that extend locally along the transport chain from the quay wall in the overseas port to customers in all of Europe. It manages various subsidiaries, including three major container terminals in the Port of Hamburg. To enhance handling productivity at Burchardkai, Germany’s largest container terminal, HHLA AG will implement self-propelled, battery-powered Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) for horizontal transportation on the waterfront. AGVs are driverless transport systems already in use at container terminals worldwide, including the HHLA terminal in Altenwerder. These vehicles reduce the need for personnel compared to manned van carriers and increase productivity by continuously supplying container gantry cranes with containers. The automation at Burchardkai is part of a comprehensive transformation process at HHLA AG, which is currently undergoing intensive negotiations with the company’s employee committees and trade union ver.di.

Counsel to Hamburger Hafen und Logistik Aktiengesellschaft
HEUKING:
Dr. Andreas Walle (Lead),
Dr. Eva Kettner,
Dr. Julia Fiedler,
Theresa Arndt, LL.M. (Université Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas) (all Employment), all Hamburg