DPD is to build two new depots in Germany and has selected Vanderlande Industries to design andinstall its sorting systems at the facilities to increase capacity and handling efficiency.
To be located in Erftstadt, about 30km south-west of Cologne, and Föhren, close to Trier, bothdepots will operate in a highly automated way for efficient handling of shipments to be unloaded,processed and sorted rapidly and reliably, Vanderlande said.
The Erftstadt depot aims to achieve the unloading rate of around 18,000 parcels per hour withtyres to be sorted both individually and in stacks. At the heart of the depot, Vanderlande willinstall two CROSSORTER 1500 sorter loops, each with a length of more than 400 metres. These aredesigned to handle shipments measuring up to 1,500 mm x 800 mm at a speed of 2.5 metres per secondwith the sorting capacity of over 11,000 parcels per hour of each CROSSORTER 1500. In addition, theCROSSORTER1500 systems are also very energy-efficient thus helping DPD reduce operationalcosts.
The Föhren depot will handle around 8,000 items per hour through Vanderlande’s POSISORTER with alength of around 80 metres. Vanderlande explained the procedure: “After unloading, the flow ofparcels is routed by a presorter to two conveyor levels. Parcels are loaded to differentdestinations handling vehicles from small delivery vans to large container trucks. The outputconveyors therefore differ in configuration and layout. Sortation of parcels to containers will becarried out reliably and at a high throughput rate by a Vanderlande POSISORTER.”
At both depots, the input of parcels to the system will be effected by telescopic belt conveyorsincluding automatic weighing, scanning and volume measurement.
The new sorting systems will start operating in Föhren in December 2011 and in Erftstadt fromsummer 2012 onwards. They will replace the current locations in Frechen and Sehlem.
Vanderlande Industries is one of the leading equipment suppliers to the worldwide express,parcel and postal industry, with annual sales of more than €550 million.
