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DHL set for bigger helping of Brussels market
[ February 23, 2018 // Chris ]DHL Express opened its new regional hub at Brussels Airport on 22 February, quadrupling its capacity at the Belgian gateway to 42,000 shipments per hour, and making it the fifth largest hub in the global DHL network.
DHL says that its Brussels operation is now busier than ever, despite the move of its main European hub to Leipzig ten years ago by its German post office owner.
The €140 million, 36,500sq m hub offers air and ground links to destinations throughout Europe and has 42 direct flights a day, to Cincinnati, Bahrain and Lagos, as well as throughout Europe. Leipzig will however remain DHL’s main hub for Asian flights.
It is also served by 250 of DHL’s own vehicles and 50-100 subcontractors. The hub also has AEO, TAPA, process and environmental certifications.
DHL chief executive Ken Allen said that business was currently booming, with a strong recovery in the business to business segment, even in sectors such as personal computers which had been relegated to the slow lane by newer technology.
He also praised Belgium’s “exceptional environment” for international business. It had never been easier for small firms to get involved in international trading, he said.
DHL says the new hub will cut its emissions by 768 tons of CO² and it is also certified to the TAPA ‘A’ security standards. The hub also has what vice president of DHL Brussels Hub, Koen Gouweloose, described as ‘airlocks’ that allow freight to be transferred between landside and landside without human intervention, with a weight detection system to prevent tampering or unauthorised access.
The new security scanners, costing €1m each, use similar technology to hospital MRI machines and can simultaneously scan and X-ray around 96% of all consignments without further intervention.
Better ergonomics has also been built in which, DHL hopes, will help counteract the effects of an ageing workforce.
vice president of DHL Brussels Hub, Koen Gouweloose said that the original 1985-built hub had reached full capacity, ; moreoever it was the on the passenger side of the airport, so the company had jumped at the chance to obtain a greenfield site on the cargo side of the airport.
DHL decided to remain in Brussels rather than seek out a minor airport elsewhere because it offered excellent international connections and because it already had a strong workforce based there.
Nor does DHL anticipate any problems with night flights in Brussels. The current 16,000 flights a year ceiling should be sufficient to cope with anticipated future growth, it says.
