UPS to expand facility in Herne, Germany


UPS held an official ground-breaking ceremony to announce plans to expand its package sorting and delivery facility in Herne, Germany. The $80m project, due to be completed by the end of 2017, is expected to more than double the operating area and sorting capacity of the hub.

Frank Sportolari, president of UPS Germany, said, “This ground-breaking reaffirms UPS’s commitment to businesses of all sizes in the region and our confidence in the German economy”. He added, “Herne has been a key location in our network since we opened the original building in 1986, and today’s investment will support our commitment to reliably and efficiently connect our customers to destinations across Germany, Europe and the world.”

After expansion, the Herne facility is planned to have an operating area of 25,000 sq m and be equipped with advanced technology that will increase its package sorting capacity to more than 36,000 pieces per hour. Furthermore, the number of loading and unloading bays for containers is due to almost double to about 130 and the number of parking positions for delivery trucks is expected to increase to 180. UPS currently employs 1,100 people in its operation in Herne, and the expansion is expected to create up to 300 new jobs at the hub when the new capacity is fully utilized.

UPS has been active in the German market for forty years and has more than 18,000 employees at 83 facilities. In 2014, UPS completed an expansion of its European air hub in Cologne, which enables connections to UPS’s global logistics network.

Source: UPS