DHL Express will expand capacity in Germany with a new €70 million facility at Munich Airport and further modernise its fleet with three converted B767 freighters.
The express operator and Flughafen München GmbH (FMG), which runs Germany’s second-largest airport, have concluded an agreement for the construction of a new 8,000 sqm cargo building on land currently occupied by two car parks.
DHL Express will plan, build, and operate the new building and lease the land for it from FMG. Currently, the company rents hall space in the existing cargo center at Munich Airport. The start of operations at its own location, which will be six times bigger, is scheduled for 2022.
Alberto Nobis, CEO of DHL Express Europe, explained: "Our aim is to support our customers in growing their businesses and hence grow sustainably with them. Germany is centrally located in Europe and therefore a nodal point of infrastructure with its vital strategic position along key routes.
“This €70 million investment is necessary to meet the high customer demand for our Express services. We are making sure we are well prepared for further logistics projects of all scales and to continuously increase customer satisfaction.”
In recent years, DHL Express has seen a substantial increase in import and export volumes at its Munich gateway.
"The existing building could not keep up with this growth," explained Markus Reckling, Managing Director of DHL Express Germany.
"After modernizing and expanding our service center in Unterschleißheim for €13 million last year already, the construction of our new gateway at the airport is the next step in the infrastructure plan with which we are clearly committing to our presence in the Munich region. Even in the currently difficult economic situation, we are continuing to invest systematically in service for our customers, which is our top priority."
The new gateway will have direct airside access and two "PUD" (pick-up and delivery) fingers. Up to 65 delivery vehicles at a time can be dispatched here. This creates a time-saving benefit for pick-up and delivery, particularly for customers in the Landsberg-Ingolstadt region.
In addition, the new station will meet the security requirements of the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) and obtain the globally recognized TAPA Class A certification, the highest security level in air transportation.
Airport CEO Jost Lammers welcomed the express service provider’s decision to focus systematically on growth at Munich Airport: "Particularly in these very difficult times for the aviation industry, this sends an important signal and is a strong display of confidence in the Munich location. The increased commitment of DHL Express will raise our profile as a logistics location and create significant momentum for air cargo traffic."
DHL will expand fleet with 3 converted B767-300s
Meanwhile, DHL Express will continue its fleet expansion amid rising cargo capacity demand with an order worth “tens of millions of dollars” for three converted B767-300 passenger planes from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
IAI announced yesterday that it will convert the three B767-300 passenger planes to cargo configuration, with the potential for a fourth aircraft, under a contract with DHL International GmbH “valued at tens of millions of dollars”.
The contract “marks another major milestone” for IAI’s aircraft cargo conversions program and the broadening of business for IAI’s Aviation Group, whose customers include the world’s largest courier and parcel delivery companies.
Yossi Melamed, IAI EVP and General Manager of IAI Aviation Group, said: “IAI is a world leader for passenger to cargo conversions. We thank DHL International GmbH for their acknowledgment of IAI’s performance and again trusting us to convert additional aircraft for their cargo aircraft fleet.”
In a separate move, DHL Express has added two B767-300 freighters to its Middle East air fleet, taking it to eight planes based at its Bahrain regional air hub.
The company in the midst of a long-term fleet modernization program, which will see six new B777 freighters join the fleet this year.
