DPD BeLux has opened its new 10,000m2 hub in Vilvoorde, Belgium.
The company has invested €52m (US$50m) in the hub and expects it to be able to process up to 20,000 parcels per hour. A 4,500m2 warehouse has been built on the floor above the hub, which can handle up to 6,000 parcels per hour. This means that DPD BeLux also has a multi-story distribution building with direct connections between the loading and unloading areas. DPD’s chilled and frozen fresh food department also has a separate loading and unloading infrastructure with direct access to the chilling and freezing rooms. The headquarters of DPD BeLux and the DPD fresh depot are also located on the new site.
On the building’s roof, 734 solar panels provide renewable energy that is also used to recharge DPD BeLux’s fleet of electric vehicles. There is also a 160,000-liter rainwater collection system and various green areas. A wadi has been created on the surrounding 60,000m2 of land, where surface water can slowly seep into the ground. A bio-rotor functions as a water purification plant. A bicycle path has also been built. These facilities are intended to help the company reach its target to emit approximately 30% less CO2 by 2030; by 2040, it wants to have reduced its climate gas emissions by 90%.
DPD BeLux now has two international hubs – one in Oirschot in the Netherlands, which serves Northern Europe and the UK, and the new hub in Vilvoorde, which supports Belgium. In Belgium and Luxembourg, DPD BeLux now has one hub and eight depots from which a fleet of over 1,000 vehicles operates. The company provides work for around 1,500 families.
Richard de Haas, CEO of DPD BeLux, said, “Our ambition is to become the international reference for sustainable parcel delivery. We will put even more emphasis on international growth, innovation and the transformation required by the current market. The figures show that e-commerce continues to grow and that the potential of the Belgian and Luxembourg market is significant. During the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to our strengths in the B2C [business-to-consumer] segment, we had additional opportunities and made our mark on the market. With the new depots and our new hub, we are absolutely ready for the future.”
Hans Bonte, the Mayor of Vilvoorde, added, “As a city, we are extremely pleased with the arrival of DPD BeLux. As an important player in the ‘new economy’, the company is fully committed to sustainability and climate-friendly entrepreneurship. Without exaggeration, the new hub can be considered a leader for many other companies in our region. Moreover, the company is a boon to our labor market. On the one hand, Vilvoorde has an exceptionally high number of hard-to-fill vacancies. On the other hand, the city has a high level of structural unemployment among relatively unskilled people. This opportunity makes the situation a win-win situation. In any case, the city council is ready to determine, together with the VDAB [the Flemish Service for Employment and Vocational Training] and DPD, how we can mutually combine our efforts.”