GLS is investing around €4million in the construction of a new hub in Jihlava, Czech Republic,to expand its capacities in the country and strengthen its European network.
The new hub will replace the current distribution centre nearby and is expected to open inOctober 2012. GLS expects to be able to handle twice as many parcels at the new facility aspreviously, with a possible extension of the daily capacity up to 120,000 parcels. The facility canhouse up to 68 loading gates, complemented by a state-of-the-art sorting system.
In addition to its role as the national hub, Jihlava will also serve as GLS’s nationalheadquarters and international gateway for parcel shipping. Daily line services connect Jihlavawith the GLS European hub in Neuenstein, south-western Germany, and the company’s distributioncentres in Austria, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
GLS CEO Rico Back explained: “Trade between eastern and western Europe has been continuouslyincreasing for years. We expect this trend to continue and are investing to also provide ourcustomers with high-quality services in the long term.”
In environmental terms, the new facility also brings along some improvements with all-newbuildings to be constructed according to ecological standards, as part of the company’ssustainability initiative Think Green. For the construction of the Jihlava hub, GLS said it willuse recyclable materials. The new building is heated with a heat pump, reducing CO2 emissions andoperating costs. In addition, energy-saving technologies such as the LED lighting systems will beinstalled. To reduce water consumption and costs, rain water will be collected, stored and used asindustrial water. After the construction is completed, Jihlava will be the twelfth ‘green’ sitewithin the GLS European network.
Serving 212,000 customers in Europe, GLS has a network of 37 central hubs and 660 depotsemploying 13,400 staff and operating a fleet of 16,500 vehicles. During the financial year 2011/12,the company transported 375 million parcels generating a turnover of €1.85 billion.
