FedEx Express today unveiled €30 million worth of new investments in its main European air hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and in several regional depots at a ‘Choose France’ summit hosted by President Emmanuel Macron.
The event, on the eve of this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, is a forum bringing international business leaders together with top French politicians at the Palace of Versailles – and thus a high-profile opportunity for firms to pledge big new investments in the country.
FedEx is already poised for a major expansion in France this year with the operational start of a €200 million expansion of its Paris-Charles de Gaulle air hub in May. The enlarged facility will be able to sort about 51,000 packages per hour, 40% more than the current capacity. This project, which also involves a 30-year lease worth an additional €1.2 billion, was presented back in 2016.
In today’s follow-up announcement, the US company pledged a further €20 million investment in the Paris air hub from 2020 to 2022 to create a new facility dedicated to heavy freight shipments and ramp equipment.
In addition, FedEx will invest another €10 million during 2020 and 2021 to modernise facilities and systems throughout the country, specifically with new stations near Toulouse and upgraded sorting systems in Lille and Valence.
“FedEx entered the French market 35 years ago and has grown to 9,000 team members in the country,” said Rajesh Subramaniam, President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Corp, who participated in the Choose France summit.
“We chose France to host our European hub, the largest FedEx air hub outside the United States, and we have continued to invest in our French operations. We have also designed our capacity and network across the country to meet the needs of our customers shipping in France and around the world.
“These new commitments, which serve to further modernize and automate our facilities and provide a better working environment for our team members, reflect our strategy to drive operational excellence and provide our customers with an exceptional service that supports them in growing their business within Europe and around the world.”
In recent investments, TNT Express, acquired by FedEx in 2016, invested €31 million to open three large stations in the Paris region, at Tremblay-en-France, Wissous and Gennevilliers, in 2017.
During 2019, FedEx put new B767 freighters into service on several European routes to/from Paris CDG, including London/Dublin, Madrid and Milan Malpensa, to increase airlift capacity and reduce emissions and noise levels.
FedEx also has a long-standing relationship with regional plane manufacturer ATR. As part of its ongoing fleet modernisation strategy, FedEx signed an agreement with the French-Italian company in 2017 for the purchase of 30 ATR 72-600F aircraft, with purchase options for up to 20 more aircraft. The delivery of the first aircraft, whose assembly is carried out in Toulouse, is scheduled for this year.
