Since the second half of 2022, Savills has seen an increase in demand from manufacturing companies for modern warehouse space in the Czech Republic, accounting for 57% of the total space leased in the first quarter of 2023. One of the reasons why demand from this sector is growing is "nearshoring", i.e., the shift of production from Asia back to Europe. During Covid-19, demand was significantly driven by the e-commerce sector, which at its peak in Q3 2021, accounted for up to 62%. However, over the last three quarters, e-commerce activity has declined significantly and, as of Q1 2023, is now at 6%. Given uncertain energy supply and costs, and thanks to government support of renewable energy, demand from this sector is also growing significantly.

The Czech Republic is among the top ten manufacturing destinations worldwide and has the third lowest risk profile. In a ranking of countries with the best conditions for the manufacturing sector, Czechia stands in eighth place and remains at the top of the list of countries whose manufacturing sector is thriving. Cushman & Wakefield reports.

Due to the growing interest of companies in locating their business in the Central and Eastern European region, Colliers has launched a new business line within its Strategic Advisory department – Business Consulting, which will cover the entire CEE market. Jan Kamoji-Czapiński, an expert with long-term experience in strategic consulting for foreign companies, who has been supporting Colliers' clients in the EMEA region for the last year, will be responsible for its development.

Colliers advised Bosch Termotechnika s.r.o., an international manufacturer of heating and hot water heating equipment, in the sale of its industrial manufacturing facility in Město Albrechtice, located in the Moravian-Silesian Region in the Czech Republic close to the Polish border.

German bicycle manufacturer CUBE is expanding its operations by launching its first production facility at CTPark Cheb in the Czech Republic, in a new building with 10,000 sqm of space. The new assembly line for bicycles is planned to start in February 2022.

In addition to manufacturing capabilities and an R&D centre, HELLA, a global manufacturer of lights and electronic components for cars, is now building a state-of-the-art testing laboratory in the Ostrava region. The lab will be located at CTPark Ostrava Hrabová, where advanced machines will be simulating the real-life operating environment of HELLA products throughout their entire life cycle.

The Czech Republic once again ranks high in the rating of the 47 best manufacturing destinations. Thanks to a good score in all criteria such as operating costs, labour, political and economic risk and the ability to bounce back after the coronavirus crisis, the country came fifth globally and first in Europe. Since 2016 when the Czech Republic was included in Cushman & Wakefield’s Manufacturing Risk Index for the first time, it has been ranked among the best manufacturing destinations on a regular basis.

Geis Logistics Hungary Kft., the local representative of the German-based transport and logistics company has signed a lease agreement for a custom-built production facility at CTPark Vecsés, near Budapest. The Geis Group will store Knorr-Bremse Systeme products in the new almost 16,000 square meters logistics facility with extra features related to the braking systems for rail and commercial vehicles produced by Knorr-Bremse Group.

Hungarian state-owned NIPÜF Group has completed another sales transaction with the sale of a nearly 3 ha plot in the Inpark Martonvásár industrial park, located southwest of Budapest. A Hungarian chemical company will build a 4,000 sqm production hall on the property by 2022.

Amphenol, a major producer of electronic and fibre optic connectors, cable and interconnect systems, is relocating its production plant within Ostrov in the Karlovy Vary Region. Panattoni Park Ostrov North was created by revitalizing the devastated site after the Škoda Pilsen trolleybus production plant, one of the largest brownfields in the Czech Republic.