The good old clothing store is history. Service and modern centralised logistics are the order of the day

"Fits!" - This or something similar is how former and active soldiers know the tone when the "clothing store cops" put a helmet on recruits at the beginning of basic training. Unfitting clothes were tailored, oversizes were delivered later. There was a lot of joking, but it worked. The clothing stores were not men's outfitters, unlike the clothing checkout: there were uniforms, clothing and accessories made of branded goods for self-payers with a clothing allowance - mostly only professional soldiers and later also female professional soldiers. The federal company, which was founded in 2002, hit rock bottom around 2015: no shirts, no shoes and restrictions on purchases. The frustration fitted in with the period of cutbacks and downsizing. In 2015, the federal government took over all the shares of the private partners; since then, LHBw GmbH has been a 1001TP3 federal in-house company. The non-federal defence business was sold in 2016.

Reorganised after frustration

Today, BwBM (Bundeswehr Clothing Management) ensures the supply of uniforms and personal equipment to soldiers and civilian employees of the federal government. The services specified in these contracts are now provided by BwBM following the merger of the old companies LHD and LHBw. Employees are ready to supply the troops at around 85 service locations (SVS). This applies to service clothing and accessories, sportswear and services such as customisation, completion and alteration work.

New location with modern technology and sustainability

A new location has been created in the A27 Park Walsrode. Easily accessible from large locations such as Munster or Wilhelmshaven, a state-of-the-art logistics facility with 56,000 square metres of logistics space, room for 64,000 pallets and around 2,000 square metres of office space has been built on a site area of 92,000 square metres. The location on the A27 motorway provides fast connections to the A7 and A2 motorways as well as access to the cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Hanover. In Walsrode, BwBM carries out tasks such as storage, quality control, textile processing and issuing equipment for around 250,000 soldiers and civilian employees. A laundry is also operated. After around two years of construction, the modern "Bw-Hub" goods and service centre in the Heidekreis district of northern Germany was handed over to Bekleidungsmanagement GmbH (BwBM).

Contact point for 200,000 soldiers

Walsrode is used to uniforms: the main ammunition depot Walsrode-Beetenbrück has existed there for decades, in the neighbourhood of the Fallingbostel, Bergen and Munster sites. What is still missing is an operator for the planned catering facility in one of the outbuildings. After all, according to the local newspapers, the logistics centre will be a port of call for 200,000 soldiers. The centre is set to store equipment for 17,000 navy personnel - will that be enough for the future?

Text / Photos: Schlüter