DHL Express has opened a new Service Centre at Maastricht-Airport for the delivery and collection of international express shipments in Limburg. The construction involves an investment of over seven million euros.
From the new Service Centre on the Engelandlaan in Maastricht-Airport, DHL handles the rapidly growing number of express shipments for central and southern Limburg. Previously, the express carrier did so from a temporary location in nearby Ulestraten.
4,500 shipments per day
The Service Centre employs more than 70 people and will handle 4,500 international, time-critical shipments daily. An automatic sorting system selects parcels by destination, and there are 34 docks for loading and unloading delivery vans and trailers. In addition to twenty delivery vans and three trucks, a Cubicycle is also supplied from the site: a containerised bicycle with a one cubic metre cargo space that travels in the centre of Maastricht.
The centre also houses a retail shop. Customers can deliver and drop off their shipments here themselves.
Gasless branch
It is the first gas-free facility in DHL's express network. The Service Centre will use residual heat from the nearby chemical company SABIC's naphtha cracker. The entire roof will have solar panels, which will cover DHL's entire electricity needs. Rainwater will be collected and used as flushing water for toilets and washing cars.
As a result of these efforts, DHL's premises will receive sustainability certification 'BREEAM outstanding'. This quality mark is in line with the GoGreen programme, the sustainability targets set by DHL worldwide. These include reducing DHL's CO2 emissions to zero by 2050.
Image: The DHL retail shop
