UPS has opened its expanded European logistics hub in Nuremberg, southern Germany, with a $40 million investment, and started the construction of a new healthcare distribution centre in Roermond, the Netherlands, due to growing demand creating 200 jobs in the country.
The expansion, carried out over two years, has doubled the sorting capacity to 30,000 packages per hour. The expansion adds over 400 additional conveyor belts, eight automated sorters for packages with a capacity of 6,000 packages per hour each for a two-step sorting process, as well as an automated sorting system for smaller packages, with a capacity of 10,000 packages per hour.
Eighteen new unloading bays were installed in addition to the 16 currently in operation, and 47 additional loading bays were connected directly to the automatic sorting system for a total of 102 truck loading positions.
Through continuous expansion of the Nuremberg site which culminates with this latest expansion, UPS has created 80 additional jobs since 2013. It currently employs more than 750 people in Nuremberg overall, with the prospect of additional jobs as the new facility ramps up operations.
UPS highlighted the importance of the location as a hub for its European network facilitating international trade and exports. “It represents a key gateway for items travelling from Germany to south-eastern Europe. The expansion helps UPS ensure a fast and reliable flow of goods to countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Austria, Slovenia, Greece, and Italy,” the company explained.
“With this addition, UPS is investing in its network in order to meet the needs of the growing export business,” Frank Sportolari, president of UPS Germany, said. “For UPS, the hub plays a key role in supporting our customers exporting to Southern and Eastern Europe. With our committed staff, our wide range of services, and a global network now benefitting from additional capacity at Nuremberg, we are excellently positioned to continue help our customers trade successfully.”
In the Netherlands, UPS is building a new healthcare distribution facility in Roermond as part of its European growth strategy and following the opening of healthcare-dedicated air freight forwarding facility at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam a month ago.
Scheduled to be completed in January 2016, the facility will measure nearly 28,000 sqm and provide 41,000 pallet places. With its close proximity to the company’s European air hub at Cologne/Bonn airport in Germany, it allows for short transit times, including next-day and two-day service, to global destinations. Up to 200 jobs will be created once the facility is fully operational, UPS said.
The new building, which will be fully compliant with EU Good Distribution Practice (GDP) guidelines and licensed by the Dutch Ministry of Health, will provide inventory management, temperature-sensitive storage and quality assurance services with a direct feeder connection to UPS’s air hub at Cologne/Bonn airport. It also further broadens the company’s global healthcare distribution network, which now encompasses more than 50 locations throughout Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and South America.
“This third dedicated healthcare facility in the logistics-and transportation-centric area of Limburg significantly strengthens the capacity of UPS’s European distribution campus,” Harld Peters, President, UPS West Europe, said. “It allows shippers to comply with international healthcare quality standards and serve a broad customer base, either directly through UPS’s global express transportation network or via UPS satellite healthcare facilities in other European countries, such as Spain, Italy, Poland or Hungary.”
UPS offers a broad portfolio of specialised freight and small package services to healthcare and life sciences companies.
