European parcels operator GLS has opened a new Italy hub near Milan as well as several newdepots to handle growing volumes in the country.
The 12,000 sqm facility, which is located at San Giuliano Milanese, south-east of Milan,incorporates the firm’s domestic and international sorting hub as well as the international office.The GLS Italy head office will move to the site next January.
The Royal Mail-owned parcel firm, which claims to be Italy’s second-largest express parcelsoperator by revenue, did not disclose the investment figure for the new facility, which replacesits smaller former Milan hub.
The hub, which employs 200 staff, is strategically located close to the Milan ring motorways andthe southbound A1 motorway. It incorporates a fully-automated parcel sorting system that canprocess up to 8,000 parcels an hour for domestic and international destinations, 60 docking doorsfor trucks and 4,000 sqm of office space.
“We decided on this step despite the current economic problems in Italy as we are still growingand see the future optimistically,” said Klaus Schädle, managing director of GLS Italy. “From 2013all the important units of GLS Italy will be united under one roof, and our customers will profitfrom that.”
Separately, GLS Italy has also opened new depots at Varese (close to the Swiss border), Lucca(Tuscany) and Pordenone (north-east of Venice) in recent weeks. The company now has 134 depots and10 hubs, some 2,900 delivery vehicles and 335 long-distance trucks serving some 110,000customers.
GLS Italy offers domestic delivery within 24 hours and in 24-96 hours to European destinations.Earlier this year it broadened its product portfolio with new services for e-retailers andtraditional retailers. The eCom service features pro-active delivery date information for consumerswith online options to schedule a second delivery attempt, while the GDO service for large retailchains coordinates goods collection times at large distribution centres with recipients.
