From Siegen and South Westphalia a truck reaches the Czech Republic in 1–2 days – Prague is about 630 km away, Brno about 840 km; a load collected in Olpe in the morning is usually at a Czech dock the next morning.
The metalworking Mittelstand between Siegen and Iserlohn
South Westphalia is one of Germany's most industrial regions, yet instead of one big plant there are hundreds of family-owned manufacturers spread along the narrow valleys of the Sauerland and Siegerland. For transport that means many smaller pick-ups, often heavy single pieces and a lot of goods in wire mesh boxes.
| Area | What is made there | What it means for transport |
|---|---|---|
| Siegen, Kreuztal | steel processing, cold-rolled strip, forgings, rolls | coils on cradles or in a coil well, chain lashing, axle loads |
| Attendorn, Olpe | valves and pipe fittings, springs and chassis parts for car plants | dense cargo – 24 t is reached before the floor is full |
| Lüdenscheid | plastic mouldings, switches, lighting and electrical parts | light and bulky, cartons, protection from moisture |
| Iserlohn, Altena (Märkischer Kreis) | wire, fasteners, metal stampings | wire coils and heavy pallets, side loading by forklift |
| Meschede, Arnsberg | light-metal castings, lighting, metal goods | castings in mesh boxes, empties returned |
The Sauerlandlinie and two ways into Bohemia
The region's backbone is the A45, the "Sauerlandlinie", with many tall valley bridges. The Rahmede viaduct near Lüdenscheid was closed because of damage and then demolished, so traffic there has used diversions for years, and other bridges are being renewed too. We therefore plan collection times around Lüdenscheid with a buffer. Heading east there are two routes:
- Via Bad Hersfeld and Erfurt – A45 to Gießen, A5 north to Kirchheim and the A4 via Eisenach, Erfurt and Chemnitz to Dresden, then the A17 and D8 via Ústí nad Labem to Prague. Suits North and Central Bohemia.
- Via Frankfurt and Nuremberg – A45 south to Hanau, A3 via Würzburg to Nuremberg, the A6 to Waidhaus–Rozvadov and the D5 to Plzeň and Prague. For Moravia and Slovakia the truck carries on along the D1 via Brno.
German truck toll and Czech motorway charges are included in the price we send you. Because of Germany's Sunday ban for vehicles over 7.5 t (0:00–22:00), cargo collected on a Friday afternoon is usually unloaded on Monday.
Heavy parts, coils and mesh boxes: how we move Siegerland metal
Goods from this region are often dense – a pallet of screws or fittings can weigh a tonne, a strip coil several tonnes. So we ask for the weight of each package and how it is loaded: by forklift, by crane, or from the side with the curtain pulled back. For coils we use a trailer with a coil well or timber cradles; for machines and oversize pieces we arrange the necessary permits. Empty mesh boxes and racks from the Czech plant go back to Westphalia. A full truck takes 33 euro pallets or 13.6 loading metres up to about 24 t; smaller lots from 1 pallet travel as groupage anywhere in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Your South Westphalia enquiry in five points
- collection address (Siegen, Attendorn, Lüdenscheid…) and delivery point in the Czech Republic or Slovakia,
- number and type of packages – pallets, mesh boxes, crates, coils,
- weight of the heaviest piece and how it is loaded,
- date and any goods-in time window,
- whether we should bring empties back.
You get a price within 30 minutes in office hours, and after confirmation we usually arrange the vehicle within 24 hours.
More pages: Freight from Germany · Ruhr area · Frankfurt · Kassel and North Hesse
Buying springs or fittings from Attendorn every week? We agree fixed loading days and take the empty boxes back – see regular transport, or contact us.
Related guides: Steel transport · Machinery transport · Automotive freight