DHL eCommerce Solutions has selected supply chain facility company Fives to automate its 25,000m2 hub in Coventry in the UK.
The hub is planned to open in early 2023 at Segro Park Coventry Gateway, south of Coventry Airport in the UK. At the heart of this automation project will be four Geni-Belt crossbelt sorters and two Geni-Flex sorters, sorting items from 150mm and 50g to 2,000mm and 60kg. Fives’ technologies will be equipped and integrated with vertical switches, Swiveler Wheel Diverters, 3.5km of conveyors, almost 40 high-speed induction lines and approximately 150 chutes to sort 56,000 items per hour.
The expansion project is designed to deliver the infrastructure to facilitate growth. It forms part of DHL eCommerce Solutions’ €560m (US$560m) investment plan across its UK e-commerce operation, DHL Parcel UK. The investment follows a 40% volume uplift since the start of 2020 and increasing demand for e-commerce and B2B services.
Vincenzo Guerra, chief sales officer at Fives Intralogistics in Italy, said, “The recent growth of the UK market is one of the fastest in the world. Fives is increasingly investing in the UK, through project execution, visibility and a sustainable presence. This important investment plan is expected to bring opportunities both from historical customers, such as DHL, and from new potential partners.”
Richard Wenham, head of operational support at DHL Parcel UK, said, “We chose Fives for its ability to really understand our business and help us build a system that can handle the majority of the products we process. Fives’ skill in getting underneath the skin of how we work really impressed us from the outset of the project. The whole team is looking forward to building a long-term relationship with Fives’ team over the coming years.”
