GLS invests in French network expansion
GLS has opened a larger new depot at Gennevilliers, north of Paris, as part of EUR 10 million worth of investment in its French network this year.
Located close to the nearby port, the 5,000 sqm depot has 60 docking doors gates and a large sorting area. It is equipped with state-of-the art conveyor systems able to increase sorting capacity up to 7,500 inbound shipments and up to 9,000 outbound shipments an hour and thus improving the company’s productivity considerably, GLS France said.
Separately, GLS France has invested about EUR 2 million in the modernisation of the sorting systems in its depots in Roissy and Fleury to cope with peaks in business activity that can increase up to 20 pct on certain days, thus responding to growing customer needs in terms of flexibility and reliability. Capacity at Roissy will go up from 5,000 to 7,000 parcels per hour.
The new conveyor belts are constructed on two levels. In the upper part, the parcels will be handled mechanically and pushed automatically towards the loading areas. In the lower part, the non-conveyable parcels will be handled manually.
The new conveyor system is currently being implemented in a few other major sites of the GLS network in France including Marseille, Bordeaux, Metz and Avignon. In addition, it is planned to invest EUR 1.5 million in a new depot in Lille.
In Europe, some other major investments are planned such as the construction of new depots in Stuttgart, Germany, and Zirl, Austria as well as the expansion of the existing sites in Neustadt-Glewe and Leipzig, Germany, and in Czeladz, Zielona Góra and Wroclaw in Poland, GLS France noted.
In addition to this investment in production equipment, GLS also aims at optimising its information systems to further strengthen parcel security and tracking transparency.
