DHL building €14m distribution centre at Leipzig airport

DHL Supply Chain is investing EUR 14m in a new state-of-the-art distribution centre at the Leipzig/Halle airport in eastern Germany. The company broke ground today on the new facility, which will offer 15,000 square metres of operating space when operations begin in May next year.

DHL said the facility would be an “end-of-runway” operation, combining activities from its DHL Express and DHL Supply Chain divisions.

For the most part, it said its customers in the life sciences, healthcare and technology sectors would benefit from the new centre, as it will offer very late cut-off times and rapid transit.

For healthcare customers, the facility will act as a medical device warehouse – complying with the highest standards for pharmaceutical management and the handling of temperature-sensitive medical products, DHL said.

DHL is also targeting clients in the automotive and engineering industries to make use of the new facility and its direct links into the DHL Express network.

The new facility is likely to be expanded beyond its initial phase up to 2014, with expectations that the whole project will see the creation of 175 jobs.