DPD ramping up Ireland operation
DPD Ireland is gearing up for expansion and increasing the sorting capacity at its Athlone facility. As previously reported by Post&Parcel, DPD recently awarded a contract to BEUMER Group to supply a fully automatic parcel sortation system for the Athlone hub which is scheduled for completion on 31 July.
The hub currently operates two line sorters, both of which feed the same 40 chutes used to sort parcels to DPD’s network of 38 depots across Ireland. This facility is to be upgraded with a seven-bay building extension, doubling the size of the current premises.
When the new system is completed, it will enable DPD to triple its daily hub handling capacity from 60,000 to 150,000 parcels.
In an article published in the Irish Times today (14 December), DPD Ireland chief executive Brendan O’Neill was quoted as saying that Irish consumers expecting to spend over €13 billion on e-commerce by 2020.
“Our business plan reflects this change in consumer behaviour,” O’Neill added. “We recently invested €1.9 million in our company’s IT scanning system which ensures that we maintain our position at the forefront of innovation in delivery technology.”