1. April 2019 | Press release

DPD strengthens competitive position with the opening of a distribution centre in Eindhoven

Hypermodern 'green sorter' Eindhoven HUB is an international hub for parcels from all over Europe

As of this month, the Eindhoven region can boast a highly innovative distribution centre. This strengthens the international competitive position of the DPD parcel service. On 11 April, DPD opened the largest international parcel sorting and distribution centre in Europe, the Eindhoven HUB. This new site has a surface area of 88,000 m2 and a sorting system of over 2.1 kilometres, making DPD ready for the future and for the growth of the market. In phase two, the site will be expanded by a further 36,000 m2 .

DPD's innovative character is reflected in the entire design. The ultramodern LS-4000 CB sorter, also known as 'green sorter ', is the beating heart of the building. With a capacity of 50,000 parcels per hour, it offers a lot of flexibility to cope with peaks. The sorting process is fully automated, allowing parcels to be sorted in the building for only a few minutes. The sorting machine also has a minimal CO2 footprint due to the start-stop system, which is also used in cars, and in this way ensures a 75 percent reduction in energy consumption.

Innovation and international growth

The new distribution centre, with its combined function, offers many opportunities for both the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. On the one hand as a depot for regional delivery and on the other hand as an international hub and transhipment location for large-scale transport. In this way, DPD not only connects Rotterdam Mainport, Schiphol (Customs Clearance) and the logistics hotspot Eindhoven, but also enables European destinations within a radius of 800 kilometres to qualify for next day delivery for the benefit of both recipients and senders. In the event of a 'no deal Brexit', Eindhoven HUB is also a crucial hub for parcel volumes to and from the United Kingdom. Not only for the Netherlands, but also for neighbouring countries as far as Poland. The entire customs procedure will be handled digitally for approximately 60,000 shipments per day.

Eindhoven region

The new distribution centre will provide the Eindhoven region with an even better connection to the international logistics network. The market is growing and the number of online purchases is increasing. Days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday require an international approach. Consumers expect speed and flexibility, such as same-day-delivery, and DPD facilitates this from its Eindhoven base. All 500 employees of the current location will move to the new Eindhoven HUB. The new location on the Westfields industrial estate in Oirschot, located to the northwest of Eindhoven, also offers various scaling up possibilities and will be expanded by a further 36,000 m2 in phase two.

“The new Eindhoven HUB offers plenty of opportunities to grow with the demands of the market. This allows us to respond even better to the needs of senders and recipients of parcels and to process peak volumes quickly. The distribution centre is by far the largest HUB in the DPD network and occupies a very important position for DPD's international network in Europe. As such, Eindhoven HUB is fully in line with DPD's ambition to achieve sustainable growth in an innovative way.”

Eric Dietz, CEO DPD Nederland

Opening 

The opening of Eindhoven HUB did not pass unnoticed. Hugo De Jonge, minister of Health, Welfare and Sports, and world top squash players Ali Farag and Nour El Sherbini opened the new distribution centre on 11 April. In the week of the opening there was also an international squash event, the DPD Open, an initiative of DPD organized by the PSA. With a $200,000 prize pool for men and women, this tournament ranks among the top 10 biggest squash events in the world. The world's leading international players had travelled to Eindhoven and the event was broadcast live via Eurosport Player and Squash TV for all countries outside Europe.