FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company and a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), announced that the company is expanding its distribution hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport. Once completed, this new facility will be one of the world’s most advanced express logistics hubs, featuring technology that will boost package sorting capacity by more than 40 percent. The commitment includes €200 million in capital and a 30-year lease. Joining in today’s announcement was the President of the French Republic, François Hollande.
“This investment is part of the company’s network expansion strategy, creating more capacity and enabling more business connections in Europe and around the world,” said David Binks, president, FedEx Express Europe and CEO, TNT. “This new expansion, coupled with the recent TNT acquisition, supports the evolving needs of our customers and the global marketplace while increasing our ability to support trends like cross-border e-commerce.”
Construction is set to begin in the Summer of 2017 and the facility is scheduled to be operational by 2019. Upon completion, the CDG hub will include an automated sorting system for large, over-sized packages, which is a worldwide first for FedEx Express and an increasing market trend as e-commerce continues to grow. As a part of the FedEx commitment to sustainability, the new building will be HQE and BREEAM certified, which means that it will be built with non-polluting materials and equipped with LED lighting. In conjunction with this major investment, FedEx anticipates the expansion will create new positions, adding to the current workforce at CDG.
“At FedEx, we have the ability to pick up, transport and deliver an item from 95 percent of the people on the planet, and most every business in the world, within one to two business days,” said David Bronczek, president & CEO, FedEx Express. “This strategic expansion in Paris is n example of how we will continue to invest to move goods faster and more reliably across borders, which means our customers can decrease costs, improve their supply chain and identify new opportunities for growth and profitability.”