Parcel delivery service DPD Ireland opened a new 15,000 sq ft distribution depot for Co. Kilkenny to facilitate almost 1m deliveries in the area in 2022.
DPD Ireland relocated its Kilkenny depot to a new distribution centre in the Hebron Industrial Estate, amid a huge uptick in demand caused by the pandemic. The new site is 10,000 sq ft larger than the previous site.
DPD Kilkenny managing director MJ McGuinness said the expansion was driven by a significant increase in the demand for business to customer deliveries, adding that the new larger facility will ensure the company can handle the increased parcel volume growth in the county.
The Kilkenny depot currently sorts approximately 2,500 parcels per day, up from 1,600 parcels pre-Covid. Mr McGuinness said the depot was delivering everything from farm machinery parts to PCR tests and balloons throughout the county.
DPD Ireland invested more than €8m in parcel delivery depots and technology in 2021, amid the Covid-19 e-commerce boom.
The company spent €5m expanding capacity in the hub in Athlone and €3m upgrading IT infrastructure to speed package delivery to customers. It also opened a new distribution centre for Cavan and Monaghan in April.
Parcel volumes at DPD Ireland jumped from 17m in 2017 to 36m in 2020 and are up to 44m in 2021.
DPD Ireland plans to spend €30 million on building a new hub to boost capacity as it strives to handle a surge in demand for online deliveries.
DPD Ireland is part of DPDgroup, the second largest international parcel delivery network in Europe. The group delivers deliver 8.4 million parcels each day – 2.1bn parcels per year.
Source: DPD
