Schenker sets up own Korean logistics center

Schenker sets up own Korean logistics center    Schenker, a provider of integrated logistics services, said it is establishing its own logistics center in a free trade zone near South Korea's international airport at Incheon.
   The new, 10,000-square-meter facility, located in the greater Seoul area, will start operating in the first quarter of 2006, providing direct access to 50 percent of the Korean market.
   'As a result of its geographical situation, Korea more and more is coming to take on the function of a hub for the northeastern Asian region,' Thomas Held, chairman of the management board and chief executive officer at Schenker, said at a customer meeting in Seoul.
   The Schenker center will focus 'on the special requirements of the semiconductor and automotive industries,' Schenker said in a statement.
   Schenker has been active in Korea since 1997 with its own national corporation, Schenker Korea Ltd., which has air and sea freight operations at four sites including Busan, the world's third-largest container port.
   Based in Essen, Germany, Schenker has annual sales of 6.9 billion euros, 38,000 employees, and 1,100 offices globally. Schenker is a subsidiary of Stinnes.