AYKA ParX and Zeppelin Baumaschinen celebrate laying of the foundation stone in Cologne

With a symbolic laying of the foundation stone, AYKA ParX and Zeppelin Baumaschinen celebrated the start of construction of the new logistics center in the economic and logistics region of Cologne-Bonn. For the largest company of the Zeppelin Group, AYKA ParX is developing a tailor-made logistics center with a floor space of 16,400 m² on the interior and 4,000 m² on the outdoor areas. From the new location, Zeppelin Baumaschinen will be responsible for the planning and procurement of spare parts for Cat construction machines as well as the storage and distribution for all branches and service stations of all business units within Germany. A total of about 100 to 125 employees are employed.

Caption: (from left to right) Holger Schulz, Dr. Andreas Kamm (both Zeppelin Baumaschinen), Sandra Paul (Mehl-Mülhens-Stiftung), Josef Maurer, Martin Böcker, Thomas Weber (all Zeppelin Baumaschinen), Björn Foltinowsky (AYKA ParX), Rainer Gründer (Köster Bau), Patrick Schumacher-Kurowski (AYKA ParX). Copyright: Zeppelin Construction Machinery.

AYKA ParX, developer of commercial and logistics parks and investor in industrial and corporate real estate in need of restructuring, celebrated the laying of the foundation stone for a new logistics center in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, together with Zeppelin Baumaschinen GmbH on October 10, 2025. Zeppelin Baumaschinen, headquartered in Garching near Munich, is Europe's leading sales and service organization for the construction machinery industry and has been the sales and service partner of Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of construction machinery, in Germany since 1954. With 1,941 employees and a turnover of around 1.19 billion euros generated in 2024, Zeppelin Baumaschinen GmbH is the largest company in the Zeppelin Group, provider of comprehensive solutions in the construction, agriculture, recycling, energy and industrial sectors.

In addition to representatives of AYKA ParX and Zeppelin Baumaschinen, representatives of the City of Cologne as well as the Cologne Economic Development Agency, the general contractor Köster Bau and other project participants were present.

AYKA ParX is realizing a logistics center for Zeppelin Baumaschinen with a total usable area of 16,400 m² on the interior and 4,000 m² on the outdoor areas. Inside the hall, a high-bay warehouse and an automated small parts warehouse from the supplier AutoStore will be built, among other things. In addition, a hazardous materials warehouse and a production facility for hydraulic hoses will be built. A rooftop PV system and the use of an air-source heat pump ensure CO2-reduced operation.

The property is being built on a 50,830 m² brownfield. There, the company will carry out the planning and procurement of construction machinery spare parts. The customers are all branches and service stations of all business units within Germany.

"The Cologne location is of decisive importance for the spare parts supply of the Zeppelin organization. It is located near Caterpillar's central spare parts warehouse in Grimbergen, Belgium, which supplies the logistics center in Cologne with Caterpillar spare parts. In addition, there are good connections through several motorways. We are pleased to have AYKA ParX as an experienced and competent partner at our side, who has found a convincing solution for our individual needs," comments Holger Schulz, Chairman of the Management Board of Zeppelin Baumaschinen.

Dr. Manfred Janssen, Managing Director of KölnBusiness Wirtschaftsförderung, emphasizes: "Projects like this show how important it is to reactivate former commercial areas. In a densely populated metropolis like Cologne, the economy also needs enough space to grow. This is the only way to create the jobs of tomorrow."

"This project is a special project for us in several respects. On the one hand, we pursue the approach of providing added value for users, the environment and the community with our real estate solutions. In Cologne, we are developing tailor-made and modern space for a well-known company that will strengthen the regional location economically. In addition, we are aiming for sustainable building development that focuses on reducing CO2 emissions and contributing to the protection of the climate and the environment. The building application process was completed within just nine months. The building authority, economic development and participating agencies of the city of Cologne provided excellent support here. We would like to thank all those involved in the project for the cooperative partnership," says Patrick Schumacher-Kurowski, Managing Partner at AYKA ParX.

Construction of the property started in the spring of this year, and AYKA ParX plans to complete the construction project and the outdoor facilities in the summer of 2026. The user will be able to start with the interior work from September 2026, and commissioning is planned for 2027.

Other project participants are Köster Bau as general contractor, the architectural firm k-fünf and KölnBusiness Wirtschaftsförderung.

About AYKA ParX:

AYKA ParX, as part of AYKA Solution Holding, develops commercial and logistics parks and invests in industrial and corporate real estate in need of restructuring. At the heart of our actions is the value investment approach in promising locations within the DACH region. Existing areas are being revitalised and space solutions tailored to the user and location are being developed.

AYKA ParX identifies location potentials and realizes productive working environments in the form of well-thought-out, environmentally conscious real estate products from which users, the environment and investors benefit in the long term. The experienced and committed team develops an individual asset strategy for each property, which takes into account the challenges of the respective micro/macro location and the market environment and maximizes potentials and values in the long term. 

More information about AYKA ParX can be found at:

www.ayka-parx.com

More about the project can be found at: https://zeppelin-cat.ayka-parx.com/

Contact:

AYKA ParX | office@ayka-parx.com | www.ayka-parx.com

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