DPD opens "sustainable" parcel hub in The Netherlands

Parcel delivery company DPD has opened a new distribution centre in the Netherlands, capable of processing 120,000 parcels each day. The new facility in Veenendaal has been designed with sustainability in mind, including carbon-neutral offices, and will be the first to use the new Crossorter 1500 high-tech sorting machine from manufacturer Vanderlande Industries.

DPD said the new facility would become a central transfer site for the Netherlands, incorporating the current activities of the depot in Ede, which has become stretched to the limits by “continuous” growth in parcel volumes in the area.

Michael van Ooijen, the chief executive at DPD Netherlands, said: “Aside from the expansion of our regional distribution centre, we have found the need for additional transfer capacity. Therefore, we have decided to move this hub to the centrally-located Veenendaal.”

The DPD Netherlands office in Best, in the province of North Brabant, will continue to serve as the company’s international transfer site, added van Ooijen.

The new Veenendaal hub has 11,000 square metres of spaces, along with the 1,300 square metre sustainable office building. Both incorporate energy-efficient designs. The new-to-industry Crossorter 1500 machine within the hall also has a “strong focus” on energy efficiency, the company said, while allowing processing of mixed flows of small and large parcels at the rate of two or three per second.

“With this system, DPD can continue to improve its performance, while minimising the costs and environmental impact,” said Michiel Peters, president and chief executive at Vandelande Industries.

DPD said its new Dutch hub has the potential to be easily expanded, with additional capacity available for loading of additional smaller parcels.