Deutsche Post DHL Group (STOCK.DPSGY) has opened a new mega parcel center in Germany as it continues to strengthen its parcel network in Europe.
When it reaches full capacity next year, the Ruhr region facility will create some 600 jobs and offer sorting capacity of up to 50,000 shipments per hour.
“The Bochum parcel center, along with the Obertshausen parcel center near Frankfurt am Main, which opened in 2016, is the largest DHL parcel center in Germany and also one of the most efficient parcel centers in all of Europe,” said a DHL statement.
Foundations by Opel
In 2016, Deutsche Post DHL Group acquired approximately 140,000 square meters of space at the former Opel site in Bochum-Laer. Construction of the parcel center began in fall 2017 and was completed on schedule within two years.
“The new parcel center building alone covers an area of 40,000 square meters, equivalent to the size of more than five football fields,” said DHL, which would not reveal the investment cost but said it totaled a “three-digit million sum.”
At the Bochum center, DHL uses directly employed workers, “thereby setting itself apart from many other companies in the industry.”
Support for peak season
DHL added, “With currently more than 20,000 sorted items per hour, the Bochum parcel center is already providing major support for the fast and reliable processing of shipments in the Ruhr region in the run-up to the 2019 Christmas period.
“The new parcel center is thus also supporting Deutsche Post DHL’s ongoing quality initiative in Germany, which, in the current year, has already resulted in a significant reduction in the number of complaints and an improvement in the company’s customer-care service.”
DHL took extensive measures to ensure the new center is as energy efficient as possible in line with the group’s sustainability strategy. For example, the parcel center is supplied with electricity and heat by its own block-type thermal power station.
Sustainability measures
DHL feeds the heat generated in the block-type thermal power station back into Bochum’s public utility network. “A roof-mounted photovoltaic system is also planned,” said a statement.
“Power-saving LED lamps controlled by presence detectors and daylight are used to illuminate the parcel center. With 35 charging columns of its own, the Bochum location is already well-equipped for the further expansion of e-mobility, with further charging columns to follow.”
Including the new location in Bochum, Deutsche Post DHL Group operates a network of 36 parcel centers in Germany, in which around 1.2 million items can be sorted during every hour of operation.
Deutsche Post DHL Group already ships an average of around 5 million parcel items for its customers nationwide every working day. “On peak days before Christmas, the number climbs to as many as 11 million parcels per day,” said a statement.
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