Wilo opens central warehouse in Uruguay

Montevideo/Uruguay. The Wilo Group celebrates another important milestone in Latin America: The inauguration of its central warehouse in the Free Port of Montevideo, Uruguay. “With the investment in the central warehouse in Uruguay, we are taking into account the strategically increasing importance of the Latin American region for the Wilo Group”, says Svenja Ahlburg, Group Director Latin America & Managing Director Wilo Mexico. “The disruption of global supply chains in the last two years has caused severe operational and financial consequences. The newly implemented warehouse is our response to these rapidly changing circumstances to strengthen our regional supply chains and making them more resilient”.

Uruguay – a central hub for the region

Since the market entry of Wilo in Latin America more than 25 years ago, the company has developed into a major manufacturer of pumps and pumping system solutions in the region. With the implementation of the central warehouse Wilo takes the next step to expand its market presence in Latin America: “By centralizing the storage of our finished goods and components at the dedicated logistic hub in Montevideo, we will be able to better and more efficiently serve our customers and partners in Uruguay and the entire southern American region by fulfilling local market requirements”, says Gustavo Morvillo, Managing Director of Platform Argentina, during his opening words.

Beyond the attractive regulatory framework of the Free Port, Uruguay offers several advantages such as political, social, and economic stability, and serves as a gateway to the region with more than 400 million people.

“With the start of the operation of our central warehouse, we will increase our logistics efficiency and performance remarkably. By storing products and components coming from our 15 Wilo production sites worldwide centrally in Uruguay, we will not only fasten our delivery times significantly to our end-costumers but also intensify and accelerate our local assembly activities in Argentina, Brazil and Chile”, explains Guido Micheletti, Head of Supply Chain Latin America, Wilo Argentina. “We also would like to thank our local partner Röhlig Logistics, who has heavily supported us in the entire process storage planning and implementation while always maintaining strict security according to international standards”, finishes Guido Micheletti.

The ceremonial get-together was attended by prominent guests, among them Ambassador Fernando Lopez Fabregat, Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ana Roconova, General Director for International Economic Affairs, Sebastián Risso, Executive Director de Uruguay XXI, Luis Busico, Managing Director Röhlig Argentina & Uruguay, representatives of the German-Uruguayan Chamber of Industry and Commerce and our kind customers and partners. "We are very pleased that such a prestigious German company, with sustainability as one of its flagships, has chosen Uruguay to open its first logistics hub outside Europe, taking advantage of the legal framework, infrastructure, political, economic and social stability and talent," says Sebastián Risso, Executive Director of Uruguay XXI. "About a month ago I was fortunate enough to travel to Dortmund, to Wilo's headquarters in Germany and was pleasantly surprised at a company with such a level of technological advancement. It is an amazing place. Also, the level of commitment to sustainability. It is a company that is one step ahead of everyone," says Luis Busico, General Manager of Röhlig Argentina & Uruguay. "Montevideo, Uruguay is a Hub for Latin America. Röhlig, as a logistics company and freight forwarder, German as well, has been working and developing the idea for about two years together with Wilo to reach this moment of launching. It has finally been achieved. A visionary company in beginning to analyse this project so long in advance and that today many importing companies are already wanting to implement it," says Luis Busico.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Embassy of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay in Germany and Uruguay XXI for accompanying and supporting us during the planning and implementation of the project and beyond.