UPS celebrate opening of $200 million expansion at Cologne Bonn Airport

UPS has recently had the official opening of an expansion of their European air hub facilities at Cologne Bonn Airport within Germany. Costing $200 million for the expansion, UPS will use this as their European gateway into the world of international trade and export.

The costly expansion took two years to construct, creating 200 new jobs. This new facility will act as one of the company’s largest investments that UPS has ever seen; with the new build also confirming their position as the largest employer currently at the airport with a volume of employees totalling more than 2,500.

The company’s President of UPS Europe, Cindy Miller, has said: “With this upgrade, we now have the equivalent of 15 football fields of sorting space for a growing export economy on the move.” Miller also said: “All of this ensures that UPS’ Cologne Bonn air hub remains the centrepiece of the company’s European express network…and one of the largest and most advanced sorting facilities in the world.”

The new area measures at an impressive 1,130,00 square feet, and has the addition of 8 automated sorters to amplify the hub’s package sorting capacity by up to 70%. A package is said to take, on average, just 15 minutes to move through the new facility using the new conveyer system, which is around 25 miles in distance. The development introduces advanced technology in the prospect of processing larger volumes of express freight shipments. The hub is also set to accommodate as an international logistics hub for major and multi-international enterprises, in additional to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) within Europe who are hopeful in entering the network of UPS.

Miller has said: “The Cologne Bonn hub is our flagship facility in Europe and continues to serve us and the needs of our customers well. Our strategic investment in Germany…underscores our commitment to the European economy. This is part of a long-term strategy to help our customers successfully compete and do business…”