Wilhelmshaven port and logistics industry presents itself in Budapest

Under the motto ‘Wilhelmshaven meets Budapest’, an information event was held on Wednesday, 19 November, at the ARANYBÁSTYA by leading companies from the Wilhelmshaven port and logistics industry and their Budapest partners. There was considerable interest on the Hungarian side, with around 100 participants from the Budapest economic metropolitan area accepting the invitation from JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven and EUROGATE, the operator of the container terminal. 

JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven event in Budapest

The Hungarian economy is already an established partner in foreign trade and an integral part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Budapest has developed into an important hub for Chinese and Hungarian supply and value chains in China-Europe trade. In addition to a wide range of consumer and industrial goods, foreign trade is currently dominated by e-mobility vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products. 

For particularly time-critical and high-value products, a new transport service has been available since the beginning of the year in the form of the China-Europe-Express (CEX), the only direct express service on the container shipping route between China’s largest port, Ningbo Zhoushan, and Germany’s only deep-water port, Wilhelmshaven. The advantage of the new connection: with a transit time of only 26 days, the CEX is an attractive alternative to air freight and rail transport for the Hungarian market. 

Further advantages of JadeWeserPort are the fast hinterland connections by container train and truck, as well as a wide range of liner services that characterise the port, which can be reached regardless of the tide. EUROGATE Intermodal (EGIM), which has been active in Hungary since 1992 and has had its own traction services in the country since 2006, ensures fast and reliable container transport between Budapest and Wilhelmshaven. The company organises up to twelve train departures per week between Budapest and the German seaports of Wilhelmshaven, Bremerhaven and Hamburg. Each train transports up to 92 TEU in the EGIM Group’s climate-efficient intermodal network.

At the information event, the port and logistics location of Wilhelmshaven, situated on the German North Sea coast, positioned itself as a reliable partner with high-performance transhipment and efficient handling. Marc-Oliver Hauswald, Managing Director of Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven JadeWeserPort-Marketing GmbH & Co. KG, welcomed the event guests as host and moderator. In his welcoming speech, he presented the programme and the speakers at the event. In the subsequent presentation, he emphasised that JadeWeserPort Wilhelmshaven (JWP), opened in 2012, is Germany’s only deep-water container port with a water depth of 18 metres, offering ideal nautical and transport geography conditions for handling the largest container ships. “The JWP is currently the port of call and hub for a total of nine liner services operated by international shipping companies. They connect Wilhelmshaven with destinations in the main markets in North America and Asia. Since January 2025, JWP has been connected to China’s Ningbo Zhoushan port by the only direct container liner service between China and Northern Europe. The “China-Europe Express, CEX” operated by the Chinese shipping company KAWA is currently the fastest liner service on the market. Containers from China destined for the Hungarian market can reach their destination terminal in Hungary by container train in just 27 hours after arriving in Wilhelmshaven,” Hauswald emphasized. He also pointed out that the JWP freight transport center (GVZ), located directly next to the container terminal, is a leading logistics and distribution park in terms of national and international comparison and is currently being expanded. The high level of development and the options for expanding the site are exemplary for the top rating (13th place) in the European ranking of GVZs. Numerous companies, including the Chinese logistics company Zheijang Seaport (Germany) Supply Chain Management, use the logistics park and offer a wide range of services for all types of import and export goods.