DHL Express Opens New Location in Dortmund

DHL Express Germany has successfully put into operation its newly built location at Germaniastraße 56-60 in Dortmund as part of its extensive infrastructure program. The world’s leading provider of international express services now has production and administrative areas of more than 5,000 m² available on a total area of over 20,000 m². This has nearly doubled the production area of the previous Dortmund location.

“Our new location impresses not only with its size compared to the previous one, but also optimizes our processes through its equipment,” explains Markus Reckling, Managing Director of DHL Express Germany, highlighting the advantages of the 25 million euro investment project. “Due to the trends of digitalization and globalization, also as a result of the pandemic, the volume of shipments continues to grow. With the expansion of capacity and more efficient processing of shipments, we are now well prepared in Dortmund for the coming years.”

The new facility is equipped with a state-of-the-art sorting system with an integrated measurement and weighing system that can process 6,000 packages per hour to transport all national and international express shipments as quickly as possible. “Thus, through the operational innovations, we ensure shorter processing time windows in shipment handling and optimized processes for our customers,” Reckling adds.

Energy-Saving Materials

Furthermore, special emphasis was placed on the use of energy-saving materials in the planning of the building, and for example, the latest LED technology was used for all lighting. In addition, the location has a photovoltaic system that generates 100 kW peak for the operation of building technology, servers, and computers. Outside, the building is already equipped for up to 64 positions for electric vehicles, of which 12 have been equipped with wall boxes for electric vehicles in the first phase.

Moreover, the new building features three so-called PUD fingers (“Pick-up and Delivery”) for the direct loading and unloading of 94 local transport vehicles simultaneously. This significantly facilitates the loading process for couriers, as the express shipments are automatically transported via the sorting system to the corresponding gate, where couriers can load them directly into their vehicles in a back-friendly manner.

Ergonomic Workplaces

Additionally, the 230 employees at the new location, which is seven kilometers away from the previous site, benefit from ergonomic workplaces in the office and in the hall, as well as from modern social rooms. The new DHL Express station also meets the safety requirements of the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA). Thus, this station of the company also receives the globally recognized TAPA Class A certification as the highest security level in air transport.

Part of a Comprehensive Infrastructure Program

The new building in Dortmund is part of a comprehensive infrastructure program with which DHL Express is fundamentally modernizing and expanding its production facilities in Germany – including Neu-Ulm, Bremen, and Munich. The service area of the Dortmund station covers all postal code areas 44 and 58. Additionally, parts of the postal code areas 45 (up to Ennigerloh) and 59 (up to Brilon) are served.

Photo: © DHL