Competitor Watch
Global logistics operator DHL has taken a second big unit at the vast SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway being built on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border.
The parcel company has taken a 10-year lease on a 192,000 sq ft facility at the huge distribution park next to the M1, just north of East Midlands Airport. It takes the total space pre-let to DHL there close to 900,000 sq ft.
DHL has confirmed it plans to employ around 1,100 people from the local area across the two new warehouses when they are fully operational in three to four years time.
A spokesperson for DHL Supply Chain said: ‘We are very excited about this latest development which, along with our previously announced facility currently in build at the East Midlands Gateway, will provide one of the most advanced and environmentally friendly facilities in the region.
‘When fully operational in 2023/24, we are hopeful of employing around 1,100 colleagues from the North Derby and West Notts area, and we will shortly be reaching out to local schools and colleges, as well as via more traditional channels to showcase the roles we have on offer.’
East Midlands Gateway – which is served by its own rail freight interchange – is already home to a number of big warehouse buildings occupied by Amazon, Very, XPO Logistics and Kuehne and Nagel. Once complete, it will provide six million sq ft of space and create an estimated 7,000 jobs.
DHL also has a significant base at the nearby airport, which has seen a 20 per cent growth in the amount of freight going through it, after increasing demand for dedicated express freight operators such as DHL, UPS and FedEx and an increase in the number of people shopping online.
As parcel volumes continue to rise in our own network, we are moving forward with our strategy to increase automation to better equip our business to take advantage of accelerating trends.
Construction work has now begun on our second parcels hub, which is situated at the Daventry International Rail Freight Interchange (DIRFT) in the East Midlands.
Due to open in 2023, the Midlands hub, which is just a few miles from our National Distribution Centre (NDC), will be our largest hub in the country.
