UPS Completes First Expansion of the Hub in Langenhagen

The expansion of UPS’s facility in Langenhagen near Hanover, with an investment of 200 million US dollars, is one of the largest single investments by the company outside the USA. The expansion of the site is set to take place in two phases by the end of 2023 – parallel to ongoing operations. Increased sorting capacities of the hub will further strengthen the European UPS network.

(PresseBox; Neuss/Langenhagen) “Reliable logistics networks like UPS are essential for the functioning of our society. It is not just about delivering online orders, but rather about the delivery of vaccines and other important pharmaceuticals, time-sensitive spare parts for machines, and goods for brick-and-mortar retail. In Langenhagen, UPS operates and expands a central hub for its international parcel logistics, thereby securing its infrastructure for increasing parcel volumes. In addition to the up to 500 new jobs created by the expansion, another good piece of news is that sustainability aspects play an important role in the construction,” says Dr. Bernd Althusmann, Minister for Economic Affairs, Labor, Transport, and Digitalization in Lower Saxony.

With the expansion, UPS creates higher capacities, particularly for international UPS ground transport in Europe, and ensures the reliability of services with growing parcel volumes, especially for international parcel shipping. Numerous direct connections to UPS locations in neighboring countries originate from Langenhagen. From here, destinations in Northern and Eastern Europe are reached directly, as well as via Nuremberg to Southern and Southeastern Europe. Important trade destinations such as Milan, Barcelona, Paris, and London, Eindhoven can be supplied directly or via Herne. The Cologne-Bonn hub, through which express (air) freight is handled, is also quickly accessible from Langenhagen. In doing so, the logistics service provider strengthens the local economy by creating new jobs and providing direct access to a hub of UPS’s global smart logistics network for goods transport. UPS enables companies of all sizes in Germany, Europe, and around the world to deliver products when, where, and how their customers want them.

Crises Highlight the Importance of Logistics

“With the recent crisis situation in Europe, it has become clear to all of us how significant flexible logistics and a comprehensive KEP infrastructure are for supplying the economy and consumers. By doubling the capacities and employing modern high technology, UPS is making a strong investment in Langenhagen to ensure even more flexibility and performance in this area. I am particularly pleased that this will also create additional jobs in Langenhagen and that the use of forward-looking e-mobility will be further advanced,” says Mirko Heuer, Mayor of the City of Langenhagen.

When the expansion of the new hub is completed, it will cover an area of over 24,000 square meters – equivalent to the size of three football fields. In the second construction phase, the old sorting and distribution center will be demolished, and a second building will be erected. Of the planned 108 loading and 30 unloading docks by the end of the second construction phase in 2023, 43 loading and 16 unloading docks have been completed. Currently, 14,000 packages can be sorted per hour, which corresponds to a volume of 173,000 shipments daily. After the renovation work at the site is completed, the number will double to 30,000 packages per hour, resulting in 315,000 shipping items daily. To handle the work generated at the expanded UPS hub, 500 new jobs will be created in operations and administration. The number of employees will increase from the current 1,000 to up to 1,500.

Reliable Delivery in the Future

“We are investing 200 million US dollars for our customers,” says Reinhold Beutel, Europe Region Vice President Hub & Feeder. “UPS is proactively expanding its intelligent network. We are not only focused on ensuring reliable delivery of what people and businesses need in the future, but we are also determined to do so sustainably. The facility in Langenhagen already has an extensive charging infrastructure that enables further expansion of the fleet of electric vehicles. The energy for this facility comes from renewable sources.”

UPS places special emphasis on sustainability and climate protection: The Langenhagen hub is based on specific criteria, so the operation has been certified according to the “GOLD” standard of the German Society for Sustainable Building. This certification is based not only on ecological aspects but also on a holistic view of the entire life cycle of a building. The facility in Langenhagen already has an extensive charging infrastructure that enables the expansion of the fleet of purely electric and hybrid vehicles.

Energy from Sustainable Power Sources

The energy for this comes, like electricity in all German UPS locations, from sustainable power sources. In Germany alone, UPS packages are now delivered in more than 30 cities with the help of cargo bikes. In Munich, UPS currently has its largest city logistics project, covering 2/3 of the environmental zone with cargo bike deliveries. UPS has since been able to export the implementation of this concept within the company to many other cities, such as Dublin, Paris, or Portland in the USA – to name just a few. By the end of the year, around 100 cargo bikes will be in use in Germany. Currently, two cargo bikes are also in operation at the Langenhagen facility.

Photo: © UPS