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Building a vision 100,000 square metres. That is the size of the Vision Park warehouse which was the largest industrial building project in Denmark at the time of its construction. Today, it is one of Northern Europe’s largest warehousing facilities. But there is much more to the enormous building – and the area surrounding it – than meets the eye. Four kilometres outside of Kolding, in the southern part of Denmark, a warehouse measuring 42 meters in height peaks above the trees. The warehouse, however, is only the beginning of the development of Vision Park – a new industrial and commercial area created by Vision Properties. Vision Properties, which is owned equally by Lars Larsen Group and Schou Family Invest, built the Vision Park warehouse for Schou Company, the largest retailer of non-food products in the Nordic region. Originally, Schou Company had only opted for half of the space and the rest was to be rented out. However, as time passed it turned out that Schou Company needed all of the 100,000 square metres. It is part of the bigger plan to leave it open to new possibilities for growth and development. “In five years' time, we will have built even more but it could be anything from more warehousing to offices or even a hotel – the location close to the motorway is very favourable and could potentially attract many different kinds of businesses,” Jens Bolding Jensen says. The flexibility of the area and the competences behind Vision Park are what is going to attract customers to the area. Because here, they can work with Vision Properties to develop the ideal surroundings for their specific needs and be comfortable in knowing that responsibility is the foundation for everything. “We are building on strong values here,” Jens Bolding Jensen explains. “Becoming a part of Vision Park means becoming a part of an environ- ment where responsibility and sustainability are overriding themes, and through sound tradesmanship we ensure that we are able to be competitive as well,” he adds. Making a statement Right from the early stages of developing Vision Park, sustainability was at the top of the agenda. This meant aiming for high standards throughout the construction of the 100,000 square metre warehouse. The DGNB Gold certification was determined as the goal, which was not without its challenges. Jens Bolding Jensen, CEO of Vision Properties. “Fortunately, the owners were visionary enough to think big,” says Jens Bolding Jensen, CEO of Vision Properties. “They suggested building 100,000 square metres instead of 50,000 which was a good decision, because it means Schou Company can consolidate their different warehouses at this optimal location.” The new Schou Company warehouse holds 130,000 pallets at max- imum capacity, because 5,000 square meters of the building is high bay warehousing. The enormous building, however, is only part of the area that is to be known as Vision Park. In total, Vision Park currently comprises 43,5 hectare of land which is equivalent to 48 football fields. And Vision Properties has an option to acquire an additional 50 hectare in the area. Built on strong values Today, only time will tell what the additional hectares will be used for. “ In everything we do at Vision Park, sustainability is the starting point and from there we discuss how we can make it go hand in hand with sound tradesmanship. Jens Bolding Jensen “It is the first warehouse to be certified within DGNB Gold which made the process slightly difficult,” Jens Bolding Jensen says. “There is not really any project which we can use as a reference and in that respect, we are first movers. But that is also making a statement: We may be the first to do it, but we will not let that stop us,” he adds. PAGE 50
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The 100,000 square meter warehouse at Vision Park. LARS LARSEN GROUP | ANNUAL REPORT 2022/23 | RESPONSIBILITY | PAGE 51
