DHL Express has yesterday (12 November) celebrated the opening of its newly relocated Adelaide Gateway facility in the city’s Airport Junction precinct alongside partners and customers.
With a reported total 8600 square metres of warehouse space, the logistics service says the facility’s peak handling capacity has now increased fourfold compared to its previous site.
The company said the $32 million investment into the facility underscores its commitment to facilitating global trade for Australia, while deepening its contributions to decarbonisation of its business practices.
Shipments that were previously routed to other Australian cities can now go direct to Singapore before their onward journey to the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and the UK, expected to reduce transit times by a full day.
The Airport Junction’s central location provides a number of advantages from a freight and logistics perspective, DHL said, as it is located just 6 kilometres from Adelaide’s CBD, 13 kilometres from Port Adelaide, and 11 kilometres from the Adelaide Freight Terminal.
Ken Lee, CEO of DHL Express, Asia Pacific, said “This strategic investment into a new Adelaide Gateway facility is testament to our strong support for our customers’ growth in this part of the country, allowing locally based businesses to access international markets faster”.
“Overall, South Australia’s exports are worth more than $17 billion and the expanded Gateway helps customers in this space boost their supply chain efficiencies and integrate seamlessly into the global economy.”
Managing director of DHL Express Australia and Papua New Guinea Phil Corcoran said, “The South Australian Government’s recently released Freight and Supply Chain strategy identifies the importance of increasing direct air freight access into and out of Adelaide and reducing the need to rely on other Australia ports”.
“DHL is supporting Adelaide’s growth potential by providing stable and reliable direct-to-market international express shipping services despite the overarching volatile economic landscape,” he said.
As well as its prime location and significant warehouse space, DHL said the Adelaide Gateway facility is equipped with a new automated sorting system that reduces errors and gets drivers out on the road earlier, thereby reducing transit times.
The direct-load system also allows direct manual transfer of parcels from the conveyor belt into the backs of vans, improving employee safety.
Some of the environmentally-minded initiatives present at the new facility include 199 solar panels on the roof, 100% LED lighting, electric forklifts, roof and vertical skylights, and a rainwater harvesting system, as well as a building management system that monitors and automatically controls electrical consumption.
