DHL Freight Opens New Freight Terminal in the Rhine-Main Area

The new transshipment facility includes a cross-dock terminal, a warehouse for specialty chemicals and general production materials, as well as office spaces that have been created in the tower of the former airbase. The location Erlensee strengthens the European network and meets the increasing demand for road transport. Two fully electric Volvo trucks are also in operation for CO2-free local transport at the site.

(Bonn) DHL Freight officially opened a new DHL Freight Terminal in Erlensee, Rhine-Main area on June 10. Around 260 employees will now take care of, among other things, general cargo and full loads at the modern site, thereby contributing to the increase in efficiency and service quality in the European land transport network. The new transshipment facility near Frankfurt am Main includes a cross-dock terminal, a warehouse for specialty chemicals and general production materials, as well as office spaces that have been created in the extensively renovated, listed tower of the former airbase. With the opening of the new terminal, DHL Freight is also putting two fully electric trucks into operation for local transport as part of a recently concluded cooperation agreement with Volvo Trucks, in order to make the pickup and delivery of goods to customers CO2-free and thus more sustainable.

Modern & Sustainable

“The demand for road transport and tailored logistics services requires us to continuously expand our network. With the new location in Erlensee as an important hub in the Frankfurt am Main area, we have significantly increased our capacities and can thus offer our customers better solutions and services. At the same time, we are proud to contribute a little more to our company’s sustainability strategy through modern and sustainable solutions at the site,” said Thomas Vogel, CEO of DHL Freight DACH.

The construction project, covering approximately 82,840 m², was built according to the latest construction and environmental standards, in accordance with the Sustainability Roadmap of Deutsche Post DHL Group, which includes sustainable construction practices for new buildings. The roofs of the warehouse and the gatehouse, an area of 11,300 m², have been greened, and energy-saving LED lighting has been installed both indoors and outdoors. DHL Freight is also supporting, together with other companies and research institutions, the CiLoCharging (City Logistic Charging) project, which focuses on integrating and optimizing charging, energy, and route management in urban logistics. The developed processes of the project will be tested in the new logistics center in Erlensee through the use of the two fully electric Volvo trucks. The electric trucks will primarily be used for the pickup and delivery of customer goods in the Rhine-Main area and thus in local and urban transport. With a payload of 16t, the range is up to 250 km.

Optimal Location near Bonn

The new location in Erlensee in the Main-Kinzig district, realized by Fäth Immobilien, is conveniently located at the highway junctions BAB 66 and 45, and it is only about 25 km to Frankfurt am Main. Around 260 employees from the DHL Freight Maintal branch and DHL Freight Euronet have moved to Erlensee. In addition, the number of employees is expected to grow to around 300 in the short to medium term. This allows DHL Freight to further expand its capacities in its European general cargo network and meet the extremely high demand for transport solutions in road freight transport.

In addition to a 12,000 m² cross-dock terminal, the site also includes 3,800 m² of office space and a 10,500 m² warehouse for specialty chemicals and general production materials. For the office space, the former listed tower of the airport in the Fliegerhorst II industrial park was extensively renovated and integrated into the terminal. The warehouse for specialty chemicals complies with the existing regulations of the Federal Immission Control Act (BImSchG) and the Ordinance on Facilities Requiring Approval (4th BImSchV), thus meeting the highest safety standards.

The groundbreaking ceremony took place only in August 2021. The grand opening celebration on June 10, 2022, was attended by Tim Scharwath, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, Uwe Brinks, CEO of DHL Freight, Thomas Vogel, CEO of DHL Freight DACH, Götz Hanningsmann, site manager of DHL Freight Erlensee, as well as Thorsten Stolz, district administrator of Main-Kinzig district, Sylvia Braun, mayor of Bruchköbel, Stefan Erb, mayor of Erlensee, and the builder Ferdinand Fäth, managing director of Fäth Construction and Real Estate Management.

Photo: © Deutsche Post DHL Group / Image caption: from left to right: Tim Scharwath, CEO of DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, Uwe Brinks, CEO of DHL Freight, Thorsten Stolz, district administrator of Main-Kinzig district, Gero Schiffelmann, member of the management board of DHL Freight Germany, Stefan Erb, mayor of Erlensee, Sylvia Braun, mayor of Bruchköbel, Götz Hanningsmann, site manager of DHL Freight Erlensee, Thomas Vogel, CEO of DHL Freight DACH