Port experience – live

Bamberg residents soak up the sun in the port

bayernhafen Bamberg welcomes big and small, young and old to its port festival

Bamberg, 17 September 2019 – What a day to remember at bayernhafen Bamberg! The late summer weather on the first Sunday following the start of the new school year provided the perfect conditions for hosting bayernhafen Bamberg’s port festival. Thousands of visitors from Bamberg needed no further encouragement to turn the port into a place to walk, discover and be amazed. Just like in 2012 for the port’s 50th anniversary, there was once again lots to see, try out and enjoy. A typical port in all its diversity!

Right from the word go in the morning, the historical steam train and the pleasure boat were in great demand – both took their passengers on trips around the port to highlight what makes bayernhafen Bamberg the cargo and freight hub for the whole of Upper Franconia. The big technology show, which offered heavy-weights such as electric trains, wheeled loaders and a brand-new reach stacker, was a source of amazement for the visitors. And all agreed that the view from the platform of the Schmidbauer mobile crane 75 metres up in the sky was the next best thing to flying!

The visitors applauded enthusiastically as the men and women of the Life Saving Association performed a live water rescue demonstration involving divers, boats and rope winches. A ‘Boulevard of Logistics’ was set up on the central festival square with the focus placed on dialogue: Companies from the various parts of the logistics sector emphasised the many opportunities on offer for training and career advancement as well as what makes logistics such a highly exciting industry.

15 companies based at the port opened their doors to the public – to the delight of the many thousands of visitors, who found out how nationally and globally operating logistics service providers and freight forwarders worked, discovered what links cereals, aircraft manufacturing, computer games and de-icing salt to the port and why skilled craftspeople and the construction industry rely on the port just as much as commercial enterprises and service providers. Many of the visitors walked, rode bicycles and pushed babies’ buggies, using the festival programme to create their own route around the port festival; just as many made on-the-spot decisions: “Hey, let’s go here ... and here .. and here again!”

Games, experiments, amazement and lots of fun for the kids
Michaela Wöhrl, the Branch Manager of bayernhafen Bamberg, and her team had put together a colourful get-stuck-in programme for the young visitors – and this programme was enthusiastically received. At the Kinder+Sport Basketball Academy of Brose Bamberg, the local basketball team, the kids had – no surprise – their eye firmly on the ball; they plunged right in to the goolkids’ Fun & Games World, made hilariously creative souvenir photos, bounced and ran around, performed balancing acts, and had fantastic designs painted on their faces. And, of course, what better highlight could there be than to do their Kid’s Train Driving License on a real locomotive under the watchful eyes of a professional driver. Interestingly enough, many of the fathers also climbed on board – but, of course, only to be there in their little ones’ moment of need...

Food, drink, live music by ‘The FabFive’ and ‘I Dolci Signori’ – ‘base camp’ for the visitors to the port festival where they could regularly soak up the sun was the quay behind the festival square, which had been equipped with chairs by the bayernhafen team to turn it into a cosy water-side chill-out panorama. After a little ‘fortification,’ the visitors carried on with their next look-and-do port experience.

“Just like in 2012, the people of Bamberg have shown that they like their port,” said Michaela Wöhrl, Branch Manager of bayernhafen Bamberg, which, along with the inland port locations of Aschaffenburg, Nuremberg, Roth, Regensburg and Passau, is part of the bayernhafen corporate group. “They are really interested and curious and they repeatedly say how willing they are to explore the diversity that the port offers. It is incredibly important for us to show young and old alike through our port festivals the real significance of the ports as cargo and freight hubs for the businesses in our region as well as how the port adds to the quality of life for us all. I would like to thank all of the visitors, the companies located in the port who opened their doors, their partners who made 15 September 2019 into an unforgettable day and all of the members of my team who made this port festival possible in the first place.”

Around 25,000 visitors explored bayernhafen Aschaffenburg

Aschaffenburg, 25 September 2017 – On election Sunday, four years after the first port festival, bayernhafen Aschaffenburg once again extended an open invitation to ‘the port experience – live’.

Young and old alike flocked to the festival to enjoy everything the port had to offer. The bayernhafen Aschaffenburg team joined forces with companies and partners at the port to prepare a programme of events that left no wishes unfulfilled: The pleasure boat ‘Wappen von Frankfurt’ was packed with passengers from the very first trip – and all were rewarded with the best possible view from on deck.  Visitors with a head for heights were rewarded with a spectacular view 54 metres above the ground on the aerial work platform, as were the passengers on board the port train, the fans of heavy-lift equipment at the Technology Show and anyone who explored bayernhafen Aschaffenburg on foot.

"It’s an absolutely fantastic mix of activities,” said one young couple who were visiting with their two children. “We all get our money’s worth here: Our children get to discover, play, have fun and even win something, and we get to have a look around and experience what a port is actually really like and what companies do here.” Indeed, the wheel of fortune and the bouncy castle proved to be as much of a magnet for children as did river dredging with a real port crane and doing the “railway driver’s licence”. And the children were not the only ones fascinated by the motorcycle trial artist who jumped from container to container on his motorbike.

Variety was also guaranteed by the companies that opened their doors during the port festival: Pollmeier, Europe’s most efficient beechwood sawmill, for example, showed how it turns tree trunks into boards for the furniture industry; Suffel Fördertechnik, Linde Material Handling GmbH’s largest authorised dealer, presented fascinating forklift trucks; and at Roth Energie, the visitors learned, among other things, how tank trucks are loaded. The guests were also captivated by the exciting world of logistics, with visits to Kreher Beton, Raab Karcher, teamFOOD and Team LOG as well as the raw materials trading company Westarp.

"We were curious about coming here and now we get to take home a lot of new impressions and knowledge,” said a delighted visitor. “I also find it really interesting that the companies in the port offer traineeships for a number of different professions.”

Of course, no port festival would be complete without food and drink, and so regional gastronomy and street food vans ensured the visitors had plenty on their plates. Musical entertainment was provided by the March Mellows Street Band and the wonderful entertainer and musician, Dr. Musikus.

"The visitors came from Aschaffenburg and throughout the entire region,” says Wolfgang Filippi, Branch Manager of bayernhafen Aschaffenburg. “The port festival is a magnet for visitors because the port has so much to offer. It contributes to improving everybody’s quality of life and the port festival gives visitors the chance to also find out why.” bayernhafen Aschaffenburg is planning to hold the next port festival in 2021 when the port celebrates its 100th birthday.

Exploring the port from the water on the passenger ship or from on high from the aerial platform – just two of the many exciting attractions.

Young and old marvelled at the machines on display in the Technology Show.

More than 20,000 visitors braved the rain to celebrate ‘The port experience – live’ at bayernhafen Nürnberg

Curious, enthralled, and always on the move – young and old alike flocked to the port festival to enjoy the many attractions the port festival had to offer – on land and on the water

Nuremberg, 20 September 2016 – If you thought that the people of Nuremberg would have preferred to spend this rainy Sunday on their sofas, you would have been in for a surprise: From 10 am to 6 pm, young and old flocked to bayernhafen Nürnberg hungry for a real experience. They took a ride on the historical steam train, the double-decker bus, and the MS Renate; they went for a ‘stroll’ down the ‘Boulevard of Logistics’, visited Kühne + Nagel, the CDN Container Depot, the Eibach lock, the Big Technology Show, or watched customs sniffer dogs in action, or floated more than 60 metres in the air in a lifting basket; they ate, played, listened to the shanty choir, all the while having a whale of a time.

“The port is great”, a first-grade pupil exclaimed. “You don’t just get to watch, you get to do things.” And his mother added: “It’s the same for us grown-ups. There’s so much going on, the port offers something for everyone.” Needless to say, Harald Leupold, Managing Director of the company that operates the bayernhafen locations in Nuremberg and Roth, Hafen Nürnberg-Roth GmbH, was also delighted. Four years after the port celebrated its 40^th anniversary, he and his team got the chance to organise another event. “Our guests are simply fantastic”, he said. “They just put on their raincoats and boots, opened their umbrellas – and off they went to the port. We are thrilled that so many people are interested in the port and in logistics. bayernhafen Nürnberg is a magnet – not only for goods, businesses and employees, but also for curious visitors. The success of the port festival is once more a testament to this.”

Companies in bayernhafen Nürnberg open their doors

Four of the companies operating from the port opened their doors to offer the visitors the chance to look behind the scenes in a series of fascinating guided tours: Kühne + Nagel, one of the leading global logistics companies, explained how they develop tailor-made IT-based transport and integrated logistics services for their customers. CDN Container Depot Nürnberg showed the visitors the services that a modern container depot offers. At UPS, the largest packet delivery company in the world, the visitors learned just how efficiently hundreds of thousands of shipments make their way from shipper to end customer. And the Waterways and Shipping Office in Nuremberg demonstrated how the Nuremberg-Eibach lock works, as well as what day-to-day operations involve. The visitors were on the move all day: by shuttle bus and some, despite the rain, came by bike or on foot.

The whole day long, the three transport modes for travelling around the port were almost full to bursting: the double-decker bus competed for passengers with the ship, the MS Renate, and the historical steam train, both of which can carry over 400 passengers. “A little waiting never hurt anyone!” said many people who enjoyed the sky-high trip in the Schmidbauer crane basket soaring 60 metres through the air. Although the sun only briefly peeked through the clouds after lunch, the panorama of the entire port area was worth it. There were large crowds and loud applause at the main dock when Nuremberg Fire Service and the German Life-Saving Association (DLRG) simulated a water rescue.

Port is movement. Port is technology.

The ‘Big Technology Show’ was set up at the location where our cranes load up to 600 tonnes of heavy, bulky or over-length freight (such as large-scale transformers, turbines, machinery or road vehicles) on to ships: with the patrol ship ‘Spessart’, ground-handling and special cargo-handling vehicles, to name but a few. Of course, the kids were not going to miss out on the chance to board a Bavaria Schiffahrts- und Speditions-AG self-propelled barge moored at quay 3.

Boulevard on solid underground

In view of the weather forecast, the bayernhafen Nürnberg team had already made the decision on Friday to ensure the main pathways of the ‘Boulevard of Logistics’ on the festival field were solid enough to withstand the rain. And so, on Friday, 90 m³ of timber was turned into wood pellets and then spread over the pathways of the festival site. “Don’t give mud a chance!” said Harald Leupold. “This meant that, even during drizzle, it was easy to walk on the ‘Boulevard of Logistics’, with its whole host of fascinating opportunities, companies and attractions. Here, there was also always a lot going on!”

A host of companies and organisations provided the visitors to the ‘Boulevard of Logistics’ with detailed information on job profiles, current job opportunities and the range of educational and training possibilities in the world of logistics. The Transport Academy presented, among others, its truck driving simulator; and bayrolo, a joint initiative established by bayernhafen and the Port of Rotterdam to shift long-distance traffic on to the environmentally friendly modes of transportation of inland waterway and rail, exhibited products from Playmobil, Fackelmann, Stabilo and Lebkuchen Schmidt to demonstrate the range of products that are shipped from the container terminal in Nuremberg to the world.

Lots of fun for the kids

Although the rain meant the bouncy castle and the climbing wall were not so popular, this didn’t matter to the children – wherever they could ‘get their hands dirty’, they joined in with gusto: water balls, face painting, the children’s painting corner, the ‘Little Scientists House’ in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s tent, bottle fishing with the DLRG, taking the ‘train driver’s license’ with DB Schenker. Harald Leupold: "Trying things out, moving around, using your hands ... Logistics involves a lot of intuition and dexterity. Everyone likes that, both big and small.”

On the stage in the packed festival tent, the Nuremberg Shanty Choir of the Water Police Association, the Pub Musicians of Franconia, and the youth choir, ‘REChord’, all did their bit to ensure the party mood. At the end, the winners of the port puzzle were drawn on the festival stage. Most of those who took part in the quiz found the right solution for the ‘logistics chain’.

bayernhafen Nürnberg ...

... now ranks as one of the most important freight traffic and logistics centres in Europe. On a total area of 337 hectares, 260 companies providing over 5,600 jobs comprise a colourful mix of industries from the worlds of transport and logistics, freight handling, recycling, industry, trade, warehousing and transport-related service provision. Part of bayernhafen Gruppe, bayernhafen Nürnberg is an important economic factor for the metropolitan region of Nuremberg and beyond. It links waterway, rail and road and ensures that the people and industry of the metropolitan region are supplied with goods from around the world. Furthermore, regional products are shipped from here to target markets in Germany and abroad.

Image 1: ‘Tradition meets modernity’ – the historical steam train was once again one of the highlights.

Image 2: The ‘Little Scientists' House’ – enthusiastic children experimenting at the Nuremberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) for Middle Franconia stand.

Image 3: Numerous guests seize the opportunity to take a ‘look behind the scenes’ of a range of companies in the port (pictured: the logistics company, Kühne + Nagel).

Image 4: In a transparent container, bayrolo, an initiative between bayernhafen and the Port of Rotterdam, showed the range of products exported in containers from the container terminal in Nuremberg to destinations around the globe. This included products from Fackelmann, Playmobil, Lebkuchen Schmidt and Stabilo. bayrolo is a joint initiative between bayernhafen and the Port of Rotterdam with the objective of shifting even more long-distance traffic on to the environmentally friendly modes of transportation, inland waterway and rail.

Image 5: Big and small came to the festival, and there was no shortage of fun. Enthusiastic guests in the maritime photo booth.

Image 6: The visitors were treated to a fascinating demonstration of the work of customs sniffer dogs – there is nothing these noses can’t find!

Image 7: Visiting the ‘silent giants’ of logistics: a loaded barge (here, belonging to Bavaria Schiffahrts- und Speditions AG) replaces up to 80 trucks.

50 years of bayernhafen Bamberg

"Full house": Colourful port festival in Bamberg attracts over 20,000 visitors

Bamberg, 18 September 2012 - bayernhafen Bamberg celebrated a lively port festival on Sunday, 16 September, under the banner of “The Port experience – live”. Over 20,000 visitors came and experienced the many facets of the port on the Main-Danube canal. To mark its 50^th anniversary, bayernhafen Bamberg (part of bayernhafen) invited interested members of the public to its port location. Joachim Zimmermann, Chief Executive Officer of bayernhafen, was delighted with the interest generated by the event: “The event exceeded our expectations. When we opened the doors to our port, everyone wanted to be here – young and old. The whole port was packed all day long. Time and again we heard people say: Isn’t it great how busy the harbour is!? Indeed, many visitors experienced things that will have made a lasting impression.” bayernhafen put together a wide-ranging programme for the event thanks in no small part to the support of numerous partners and companies. There was plenty to see, experience and try out, with a little something for everyone.

Over 20 companies opened their doors to visitors, giving the public a look behind the scenes. One of the highlights for many visitors to the festival was the port tour featuring an historical steam train and a tour boat. This large festival, spread over approximately 19,000 m², demonstrated everything that makes logistics so exciting. Childhood dreams were even fulfilled by DB Schenker Rail: As part of the “Engine driver’s licence” visitors were able to drive a railway engine themselves. It goes without saying that plenty of activities were also offered on the water. Visitors were able to board various ships, from small boats to a large freighter ship from the Bavaria fleet and a river cruise ship. One impressive highlight was the recovery of a car from the depths of the port, an operation professionally carried out by the DLRG and lifeguard service. The Water and Shipping Authority supported the demonstration with their port craft and dredger.

At the port festival in bayernhafen Bamberg, the visitors were always in front row – both when ships docked or for the many attractions offered by the companies operating from the port and also partner companies.

Ports can be so beautiful – Illumination by the “port beams of light”.

Impressive: DLRG and the Water Safety Agency joined forces to recover a car from the port dock, supported by a utility ship with a floating dredger provided by the Water and Shipping Authority.

Bustling activity on the water - a small boat and a large cargo ship belonging to the Bavaria fleet as well as a river cruise ship could be “boarded”.

The experience as compensation for the queue. The visitors took it in their stride.

“Engine driver’s licence” anyone? Yes, please. DB Schenker Rail fulfilled childhood dreams.

The face of a happy (maybe future) train driver ...

Hooked. Lit. In colour. The evening at bayernhafen Bamberg.

Every great festival comes to an end – in a particularly atmospheric way, of course.