Courier and logistics company, DHL Express, is undergoing an extensive renovation of its Auckland gateway facility to double the size of its processing capabilities.

To cater for strong ongoing demand for inbound freight, DHL Express will increase its investment in the New Zealand market with a NZ$15.3 million upgrade, linking all of New Zealand to a network of 220 countries and territories globally, and allowing New Zealand importers and exporters to trade in the global marketplace more efficiently.

The upgrade means DHL Express will also take on an additional 15 to 20 staff in 2015.

The upgrade of the Auckland facility will include the doubling DHL’s processing facility and increasing sorting capacity by 192 per cent to accommodate increased demand from around New Zealand.

As DHL’s ‘gateway’ to the global network, the upgrade of the Auckland facility is integral to future proofing DHL Express NZ.

DHL Express NZ country manager, Tim Baxter, says the facility is part of DHL’s long term strategy to concentrate on the customer.

“Back in 2009 we developed a five year plan which focused on investing in our network capabilities to offer our customers the best access to the global economy,” said Baxter.

“As we are now experiencing unprecedented customer demand, this gateway facility is the logical next step in that investment. It will enable us to provide faster and more efficient processing of shipments, partly thanks to the state of the art automated process that we are implementing, meaning ultimately our customers will reap the rewards.”

Auckland Airport is the developer and owner of the land and DHL Express will lease the completed (and extended) facility from Auckland Airport. DHL Express NZ is aiming for the facility to be fully operational by Q4 2015.