DHL Express breaks ground at new Joburg facility

Source: Supplied

Jed Michaletos, managing director of DHL Express South Africa, says: "We are thrilled to announce this investment which truly affirms DHL’s commitment to Africa, and more specifically, South Africa. South Africa is a key market for us and this expansion will ensure that we continue to provide our ever-growing customer base with the best-in-class service quality which they have become accustomed to. We have experienced continued growth in inbound and outbound volumes, coupled with the accelerated rise of cross border e-commerce, which has necessitated this move."

Maxmising productivity

"The new facility will make use of a drive-in model, thereby maximising productivity and increasing the volume of shipments processed daily to ensure faster delivery of shipments for our customers. The increased capacity will enable us to handle a double-digit increase in shipments processed per hour, and will allow further growth of up to triple digits if required," added Michaletos.

Coenie Bezuidenhout, director of SOM Group says: "SOM and Waterfall, together with our team of design consultants and contractors, are proud to be associated with this prestigious project. The new DHL facility will be situated in one of the best logistics locations in South Africa and will also mark the establishment of a world class material handling facility. The construction has commenced on site and completion is scheduled for April 2023."

The facility will receive, process and transport inbound and outbound shipments to their intended destinations. The development will include an increase in floor space and advancements in technology and processes as well as material handling equipment, which will omit manual handling of shipments and facilitate direct loading of shipments.

Reducing emissions

The facility will be constructed in line with Deutsche Post DHL Group's goals to reduce all logistics-related emissions to net-zero by the year 2050 and will meet DHL’s global requirements from an operational and future expansion perspective. There will be measures put in place within the facility to reduce its overall energy consumption by the use of water recycling capabilities and solar power systems.

"We believe that to achieve growth, we need to ensure that we have world-class facilities. The upgrades to our network operations and ongoing expansion will assist us in meeting these expectations while maintaining our excellent service standard," concluded Michaletos.