DHL Express has announced the opening of a new service centre in Gatwick with an investment of £37 million. Mims Davies, MP for East Grinstead & Uckfield attended the official opening where she toured the site, meeting with staff and customers.
In recent years, the area has seen an increase in parcel shipments, calling for a larger facility that is better positioned to serve its growing customer base. To support this growth, the new service centre will host a £2M automated shipment processing system to boost efficiency and organise customer shipments across Sussex, and parts of Surrey and Kent. Covering 115,000 sq.ft, the site is projected to handle around 2 million items each year.
The South East ranked as the largest export region of England in the year ending March 2024, and with 47% of small businesses in the region telling the Federation of Small Businesses that they aspire to grow rapidly or moderately over the next 12 months**, the hope is that many of them will recognise international trade as a way to achieve their growth ambitions.
The new site has also been developed with sustainability at its heart, benefitting from extensive solar panels, which combined with green energy from the grid means that the site runs on 100% renewable energy. The building also features low-use water appliances and energy usage monitoring. The site has the infrastructure to support 90 electric vans, with 30 electric car charging spaces for employees.
The site also has a recreational landscaped area for employees to enjoy outside space, as well as a quiet room within the building.
Claire Leo, Gatwick Service Centre Manager, DHL Express says: “We are thrilled to open our new state-of-the-art service centre in Gatwick, which will enhance our ability to meet the growing demand for express delivery services in the region. With this new facility, we are well-positioned to support the local economy and deliver the highest standards of service”.
Mims Davies, MP for East Grinstead & Uckfield says: “I was greatly honoured to join the DHL Express team for the official opening of their fantastic new Gatwick service centre. This is a huge achievement and brilliant for our communities as DHL employs over 50,000 people across the UK and will be providing more jobs here in my constituency East Grinstead, Uckfield and the villages, from entry level to progressing into senior management.
I also commend their efforts on working to ensure employees’ mental health is boosted with an outdoor area and quiet room in the building which will be hugely beneficial. The team from the previous site in East Grinstead who I had met before were delighted with their new work environment and the boosted opportunities it gives them.
I look forward to visiting again soon and seeing how they continue to grow our local economy, working with many local businesses to get their products to customers.”
