Siemens Logistics wins GLS Spain hub contract

GLS will use Siemens Logistics sorting technology at its forthcoming Spain hub near Madrid, which is currently being built by real estate company Goodman.

To cope with its volume growth, GLS Spain chose to centralise its operations in the strategically important capital region. The new 75,000 sqm parcel hub will be part of the Madrid Gate Logistics Center, located near the Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport.

The Siemens Logistics contract includes the design, integration, and commissioning of parcel sorting technology for the new logistics centre. The German company will integrate several high-efficiency Visicon singulators, two kilometers of conveyor belt, a linear sorter system, and state-of-the-art software.

Siemens Logistics will install a powerful sorting system with a throughput of 50,000 parcels per hour for the effective processing of consignments of different formats and weight categories. The implementation is scheduled to be completed by spring 2023.

Biggest GLS Spain facility

“We are pleased to equip the new GLS logistics complex in Madrid with our reliable sorting system,” said Michael Reichle, CEO of Siemens Logistics. “This is a key project for both companies.” Nerea Torres, CEO of Siemens Logistics in Spain added: “We will work hand in hand with GLS. Our goal is to support them in optimizing their transit times and in further improving the quality of their operations to make this a definitive reference hub in the sector.”

“We're looking forward to our collaboration with Siemens," explained Luis Doncel, General Manager Iberia of GLS Spain. "Our new facility will be the most important GLS logistics center on the Iberian Peninsula and one of our most important hubs in Europe. We decided to rely on the Siemens team, who offered us not only powerful and reliable sorting technology, but also system design and installation from one hand. This will strengthen us to further increase the flexibility, quality and efficiency of all the services we offer to our clients.”

Construction of the new GLS hub, on the former Iveco Pegaso factory site in the east of Madrid, started last November. The building is due for completion in autumn 2022.

GLS’s new headquarters for the Iberian Peninsula will handle more than 1 million shipments per day. The hub, designed for cross-docking and urban distribution, will have more than 340 loading points and will be prepared to absorb a flow of 3,900 vehicles per day.

With an expected investment of €92m, these facilities will unify the activity of the current GLS centres in Coslada and San Fernando de Henares and consolidate the GLS Group’s presence in Spain.

According to Goodman, the facility is part of an ambitious project to revitalise an industrial site of more than 168,000 sqm which has seen an investment of €150 million to date. The Madrid Gate Logistics Centre will comprise innovative, sustainable facilities in close proximity to Madrid’s main consumer centres.