UPS is investing €160m (US$173m) in an advanced technology super hub in Hannover-Langenhagen.
The expansion will happen in two phases until 2023, doubling sorting capacity to 30,000 packages per hour.
The groundbreaking for the hub, one of UPS’s largest investment outside of the USA, was attended by Dr Bernd Althusmann, Lower Saxony Minister of Economic Affairs, Employment, Transport and Digitalisation.
Hannover-Langenhagen will serve as an important link in UPS’s European and German network, offering businesses improved access to its smart global logistics network.
Frank Sportolari, president of UPS Germany, said online retail sales in Germany are expected to reach €70bn (US$76bn) this year.
“E-commerce offers small and medium-size businesses a platform to trade like micro-multinationals. Transforming our existing sorting and distribution hub in Hannover-Langenhagen will allow businesses of all sizes in Germany to reach new business customers and consumers worldwide, whether that’s in Seoul, San Francisco or Stuttgart,” Sportolari said.
Althusmann added, “Langenhagen and Hannover are located in the middle of Germany and in the heart of Europe – a potential from which the logistics sector can profit like hardly any other location. The expansion of this UPS branch is thus a commitment to the business location of the Hannover region and at the same time a door opener for the export activities of local companies.”
The hub will cover 24,000m2 (258,300ft2) once the second phase is completed in 2023.
Phase one will involve the construction of a new building alongside the existing facility, to be completed by the summer of 2021.
Phase two will involve demolition of the existing sorting and distribution center and the construction of the second building.
