DPD will invest €60 million and take on 500 more workers in Belgium this year as it speeds up capacity expansion plans amid a 70% dramatic surge in B2C parcel volumes.
DPD Belux (Belgium & Luxembourg) has seen business boom during and after the coronavirus pandemic lockdown restrictions in the two countries. Its B2C volumes have soared by 70% while B2B shipments have also risen slightly.
In response, the company is accelerating investments to expand its operational capacity by bringing forward expansion plans by three years.
DPD Belux will open four new facilities this year, creating 500 new jobs (200 depot staff and 300 more drivers) and taking its Belgian network to a total of 10 locations.
The biggest new facility will be a 23,000 sqm hub at Puurs, midway between Brussels and Antwerp. The company will also open three new depots: a 18,550 sqm facility at Lummen, close to the eastern city of Hasselt; a 17,000 sqm site at Asse-Zelik, just outside Brussels; and an 11,000 sqm depot at Sint-Niklaas, between Antwerp and Ghent.
DPD Belux currently delivers about 30 million parcels a year through its operational network, which includes 800 Pickup points.
Speeding up investments by three years
“The corona crisis surprised us, like the entire market. The lockdown fundamentally changed our operations within a week and put them under pressure. However, we also learned a lot,” explained Silvio Mestdagh, CEO of DPD Belux.
“We can say that the corona crisis has allowed us to take a three-year lead on our plans. That’s why we are announcing these investments now.”
He continued: “As a group, we will continue to make significant efforts to further improve the quality of our services and provide the best customer experience on the market while respecting our commitment to sustainability.
Mestdagh predicted: “The trends that have emerged in recent months will continue into the future, with further growth in e-commerce and a related rise in demand for B2C deliveries.”
The DPD Belux CEO also emphasised: “While we are investing heavily in B2C, B2B also remains very important for DPD. For the B2B sector we use the strong innovation deployed in B2C to further increase the flexibility and experience of recipient companies, which is very important in the SME segment."
