DHL Express Breaks Ground at Munich Gateway

DHL Express Germany today marked the official start of construction for the new building at Munich Airport with a symbolic groundbreaking ceremony. This will be built on the area of the two parking lots P 80 and P 80 West and will encompass a gross floor area of more than 11,000 square meters. Thus, the site will be almost seven times larger than the hall area previously rented by DHL Express in the cargo center of Munich Airport. The logistics company is constructing and operating the new site and is leasing the land from Munich Airport GmbH (FMG).

(Bonn / Munich) The volume of DHL Express shipments at the Munich Gateway has increased significantly in recent years, making the expansion of the site a logical consequence. “With the growth of import and export volumes due to the trends of digitalization and globalization, the previous production area could not keep up,” explains Markus Reckling, Managing Director of DHL Express Germany, the necessity of the 104 million euro investment project. “The new construction of the gateway at Munich Airport is the next important step within our infrastructure plan. Our customers are our top priority, and with the new building, we offer an improved service.” The airside access allows aircraft parked on the apron to be reached directly from the new building. The gateway also features two so-called PUD fingers (Pick-up and Delivery), where up to 65 delivery vehicles can be processed simultaneously. This provides a time advantage for customers in the Landsberg-Ingolstadt region for pick-up and delivery.

“Today marks the groundbreaking for a win-win project: for DHL Express, Munich Airport, for Bavaria, and for the people who want to reliably send and receive urgent freight worldwide. With the new express center, DHL sets standards in logistics and sustainability. Munich Airport is a driving force for the region and for all of Bavaria,” said State Minister Dr. Florian Herrmann, MdL and Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery.

Special emphasis is placed on the use of energy-saving materials and technologies in the planning of the building. For example, the entire lighting will use state-of-the-art LED technology. In addition, a photovoltaic system will be installed that generates 100 kWpeak for the operation of building technology, servers, and computers. Heat generation will be provided by heat pumps, supplemented by the district heating supply from FMG. Furthermore, 32 charging positions for electric vehicles are currently planned at the PUD fingers, two charging points for apron vehicles, as well as charging points at the employee parking lots. The DHL Express station in Unterschleißheim has recently put 10 electric vehicles into operation, which will soon be supplemented by additional electric vehicles.

As an “extremely important signal for the future development of Munich Airport,” the Chairman of the Executive Board of Munich Airport GmbH, Jost Lammers, welcomed the groundbreaking for the new building. Lammers added: “We see enormous potential at Munich Airport in terms of air freight and express services. DHL Express’s strong commitment is a great vote of confidence for our air freight location. The future gateway will not least benefit Bavarian companies, which will find highly efficient logistics and an expanded flight offer here.”

Currently, 72 employees are working at the Munich Gateway, who will move into the new building. Furthermore, the number of employees will more than double upon commissioning. Additionally, the new station will meet the security requirements of the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) and thus receive the globally recognized TAPA Class A certification as the highest security level in air transport.

The new building at Munich Airport is part of a comprehensive infrastructure program with which DHL Express is fundamentally modernizing and expanding its production facilities in Germany – including Dortmund, Neu-Ulm, and Bremen. The regional service area of the Munich Gateway extends from Nuremberg in the north to Straubing in the northeast, Bad Aibling in the south, and Neu-Ulm in the west. There is also a daily flight connection to the international DHL Express hub in Leipzig. Additional connections from Munich include East Midlands in the UK (Monday-Thursday) and Malpensa in Italy (Friday).

Photo: © Deutsche Post DHL Group / Image caption: (l. to r.): Timo Köpsel, Director Gateway Munich DHL Express Germany; State Minister Dr. Florian Herrmann, MdL and Head of the Bavarian State Chancellery; Nathalie Leroy, Managing Director Finance and Infrastructure Munich Airport GmbH; Markus Reckling, Managing Director DHL Express Germany; Jost Lammers, Chairman of the Executive Board Munich Airport GmbH