FedEx Express yesterday broke ground on its technologically innovative new €140 million Central andEastern European hub at Cologne/Bonn airport in a ceremony attended by senior political figures and
some 250 invited guests.The ceremonial foundation stone was laid by Jürgen Rüttgers, state premier of NorthRhine-Westphalia (pictured centre), Cologne mayor Fritz Schramma (second right), Robert Elliott,FedEx Express president, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Indian subcontinent (second left), andCologne airport managing director Michael Garvens (left).
The Central and Eastern Europe hub at Cologne, slated for completion in 2010, is expected toemploy 450 people, creating about 200 new local jobs. New ramp, freight and sort facilities with afully-automated sort system will cover a floor space of approximately 50,000 sqm. Cologne Airportand FedEx Express are each investing some €70 million in the hub which will have capacity to sort12,000 documents and 12,000 parcels per hour. FedEx Express plans to operate about 60 flights aweek through Cologne, including MD-11 flights from Asia and to the USA.
The state-of-the-art facility will be the largest FedEx Express gateway in Germany, as wellas the first solar-powered hub for FedEx outside of the US and the company’s largest solar-poweredhub worldwide. It will be equipped with a 1.4-megawatt solar power system, which can generateapproximately 1.3 gigawatt hours of electricity per year. The solar panels will cover a totalsurface area of 16,000 sqm. The hub will nearly double the amount of electricity FedEx currentlygenerates from solar power.
FedEx opted to relocate from the existing facility at Frankfurt Airport and build its new hubin Cologne because of the region’s excellent freight transport infrastructure and the centrallocation of the airport within Germany and Europe. “Moving to Cologne enables FedEx to planeffectively for the future,” said Robert Elliott. “With the availability of space to expand andmore flexible night flight regulations, we have found innovative and practical solutions to meetthe needs of our customers worldwide.” The Rhine/Main region, including Frankfurt airport, remainsan important market for FedEx, and the company will continue to offer its entire service portfoliofrom Frankfurt.
Premier Rüttgers pointed out that the relocation of FedEx Express to Cologne would enhanceNorth Rhine-Westphalia as a logistics centre and encourage further economic development within thestate. Airport chief Garvens said the arrival of FedEx in 2010 would be a “turning point”following the relocation of DHL Express to Leipzig.
