FedEx Express officially ‘broke ground’ at the site of its new gateway facility at Copenhagen Airport – signalling the official start of construction. The new facility will serve as a gateway for inbound and outbound shipments for Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. In addition, ramp, freight and sort facilities will be combined in a single location, allowing the efficient and smooth processing of shipments, supported by a modern automated sort system.
“We are investing in this facility to give our customers even better connectivity from the Nordics to Europe and the rest of the world. Copenhagen is an ideal choice because of its strong freight transport infrastructure and the central location of its airport,” said Helena Jansson, vice president, Finance, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Indian Subcontinent, FedEx Express.
“In the last three years, we have expanded our presence across Europe opening more than 100 new stations – of which eight are in the Nordics. Our new Copenhagen gateway is a key part of our growth strategy and, like elsewhere in Europe where we’ve invested, customers in this region will benefit from earlier deliveries and later pick-up times.”
The new facility will sort 11,500 packages per day, have a size of more than 8,000 square metres, process 18 weekly FedEx Express flights, 170 truck movements per week, and a fleet of up to 36 pick-up and delivery vehicles. Approximately 120 FedEx Express team members will be based at the site.
The building will be located in the airport´s cargo area near the Øresund Strait and is scheduled for completion towards the end of 2015.
“We are grateful towards FedEx Express for choosing Copenhagen Airport for their new Nordic gateway. It also reinforces our position as a vital Northern European centre for air cargo reflected in the growth of our cargo activities which have increased by about 16 per cent over the past three years,” said Thomas Woldbye, chief executive officer, Copenhagen Airport.
The Nordics region – Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden – has experienced steady economic growth in recent times, leading to an average forecasted GDP growth of 2 per cent in 2015. This upward trend is also reflected in FedEx Express shipping data: for example, shipments between July 2013 and June 2014 from these markets to the rest of Europe increased by 17.5 per cent compared to the previous 12 months. North America in particular has also grown in economic significance for the Nordics – the overall number of FedEx Express shipments from the Nordic region to North America increased by 6.9 per cent between July 2013 and June 2014, compared to the same period the previous year.
