DHL today unveiled plans to invest €114 million in a new air hub to triple capacity at BrusselsAirport, creating 200 new jobs by 2020, on the heels of recent group investments in Sydney and
Shanghai.The news comes nearly seven years after the company’s European express hub was moved fromBrussels to Leipzig, resulting in several hundred job losses.
DHL said the triple-digit million euro investment responded to rising volumes and would furtherstrengthen the position of Brussels within the European and worldwide DHL network, and improveBelgian trade connections and export opportunities.
In addition, the hub will reinforce DHL’s status as a major employer in Belgium and is expectedto create 200 new jobs by 2020. Today, DHL employs more than 4,000 people in Belgium, including1,000 employees at the existing Brussels Hub, which was set up in 1985 as a regional hub.
In the last five years, Brussels has enjoyed solid double-digit volume growth, the companyexplained. “Due to this continuous growth and its central location in Europe, the Brussels Hub isincreasingly being used as an international and transit hub, which means that the current hub isnearing 100% of its capacity. DHL’s decision to invest in a new hub has been driven by thelogistics needs resulting from the continuous growth of volumes from Brussels in recent years, aswell as the availability of a skilled workforce in the region,” DHL said.
The total surface area of the planned new hub is 36,500 sqm, consisting of a new 31,500 sqmsorting centre and a modern 5,000 sqm office complex. Capacity will triple from 12,000 to 39,500shipments per hour thanks to modernisation of sorting systems, allowing DHL to respond to expectedfurther growth in international express shipments.
DHL will also reduce its environmental footprint through the use of new, more efficient sortingtechnologies, better insulation, a new vehicle fleet that runs on natural gas, a solar park,environmentally friendly lighting and other measures. For the Brussels Hub, this means anadditional saving of 768 tons CO² per year based on Vlarem2-regulations.
Koen Gouweloose, Managing Director, DHL Aviation NV said: “The new hub will guarantee an evenquicker and higher quality service. It will connect Belgian and other EU companies with 18intra-European destinations and a number of important intercontinental destinations such as the US,China and Africa. In addition, DHL provides 64 road connections from Brussels directly to majorbusiness destinations in Europe. This will further reinforce the important position of Brussels inthe European and global network, and strengthen Belgian trade connections with the rest of theworld.”
Danny Van Himste, Managing Director DHL Express Belgium and Luxembourg, explained: “DHL plays acrucial role in the business relationships of Belgian companies. Express delivery services like DHLallow companies to quickly and reliably deliver their exported products within a strict timeframe.We strongly believe that this investment will not only stimulate further development of the exportactivities of Belgian companies, but also meet the rising demand created by internationale-commerce. After all, more possibilities for the hub in Brussels and our high-performance networkof service centres throughout the country mean greater flexibility, later pick-up times and betterservice for our customers.”
Arnaud Feist, CEO of Brussels Airport, emphasised the importance of airfreight in Belgium:“Brussels Airport invests in different categories of air transportation, cargo – cargo onpassengers airplanes and express deliveries. With this significant investment from DHL, we willfurther strengthen our position in Belgium as the logistics centre of Europe. This will have apositive influence on the balance of trade for our country, especially because it creates jobs.Every 100 tons of cargo equals one job. At the moment there are approximately 4,500 jobs atBrucargo. Our expectations this year are to add another 400 to 500.”
The planned development in Brussels comes alongside major investments already announced,including a €200 million infrastructure upgrade in the UK, a €150 million expansion of DHL’sEuropean Hub in Leipzig, Germany and further modernisation of the company’s freighter fleet. Acomprehensive fleet renewal program has seen DHL upgrade its European fleet with modern, efficientcargo aircraft, in line with its commitment to the highest industry standards in terms of noise andcarbon emissions.
The global DHL Express network currently operates over 250 dedicated aircraft between over 500airports and 22 key hubs and gateways worldwide, serving more than 220 countries and territories.DHL Express is the market leader in time definite international (TDI) services in the Europeanmarket and experienced exponential revenue growth of around 5% between 2011-2013, outstripping bothGDP and the overall TDI market. This strong demand has necessitated an expansion in the company’sEuropean network.
Meanwhile, the wider DP DHL group has opened other new facilities around the world. DHL SupplyChain has opened a 90,000 sqm logistics campus in the western Sydney suburb of Horsley Park,creating 500 new jobs. The A$120 million (€81m) site includes a distribution warehouse and atransport hub to distribute goods to retailers, the healthcare sector and other customers acrossAustralia.
Separately, DHL Global Forwarding has invested RMB 115 million (€ 16 million) to expand itsShanghai air freight facility, building up a new 15,211 sqm warehouse, including 1,600 sqm coldstorage facilities for Life Sciences and Healthcare customers, and housing nearly 1,000 air freightand customer service teams on one site. The new Shanghai air freight logistics center has beendeveloped on the site of the existing DHL facility on No. 529 Haitian Yi Road within the No. 1Customs Supervised Bonded Zone and is the only international freight forwarder there that providestemperature controlled storage in its own facility.
