DHL today started work on a new mega-parcel centre near Berlin, its third such facility in Germany with capacity to sort up to 50,000 parcels an hour.
The logistics company is investing a ‘high double-digit million sum’ in the centre at Ludwigsfelde in Brandenburg, just outside the German capital, which will create up to 600 jobs when it goes into operation in 2021.
Brandenburg’s premier Dietmar Woidke, local officials and DHL executives held a ground-breaking ceremony at the site, which is about 11km from the southern edge of Berlin. The 37,000 sqm centre will be located on a 165,000 sqm site that the company acquired last year.
Woidke commented: “The town and the whole region will benefit from this investment in the future.”
Ralf Steffes, head of infrastructure for Deutsche Post’s Post & Parcel Germany division, said: “The Berlin/Brandenburg parcels market is growing continuously, and the demands and needs of our customers along with it. We want to be their first choice. With the new parcel centre in Ludwigsfelde we are expanding our high quality, gearing up for forthcoming challenges and increasing the performance of our parcels infrastructure.”
Across Germany DHL has a total sorting capacity of more than 1 million parcels per hour in its 35 parcel centres. Most can process 30,000 -40,000 items per hour. The first mega-centre with capacity for up to 50,000 items/hour went into operation at Obertshausen (near Frankfurt) in 2016 while the second is due to open in Bochum later this year.
DHL expects the German parcels market to grow between 5% and 7% per year in the coming years.
