DHL relocates Norfolk service center to new facility

Global express delivery and logistics services provider DHL said this week that it has taken steps to expand its Norfolk, Va.-based operations through the relocation to a facility that more than doubles the size of its previous one.

Company officials said that this new facility is a full-service operation where the company processes shipments and directly serves customers at its new retail ServicePoint counter. And they added that the $7.3 million facility also increases shipment capacity and also enables faster processing, which results in faster pickup cutoff times for Eastern Virginia-based shippers.

“Through this new facility, DHL is thrilled to expand and improve its capabilities for international shippers within one of the nation’s largest export markets and continue to help customers—both large and small—capitalize on business growth opportunities beyond our borders,” said Nemer Abohasen, VP, and General Manager of DHL Express, in a statement.

The new service center facility, which is located at 2551 Almeda Avenue serves Norfolk and the surrounding areas for local pickup and delivery, from the Shipyards in Chesapeake to Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks. Key benefits of the facility include:

• connecting to the global DHL network through its daily dedicated 737 flight between Richmond International Airport and DHL’s global hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), in addition to trucking service to and from the DHL JFK Gateway;
• 25,200 square feet of warehousing and office space;
• state-of-the-art material handling equipment and nearly triple the load positions it had previously—up to 30—for loading and unloading freight around its conveyor system; and
• is equipped with charging stations as it will soon introduce fully electric pickup and delivery vehicles, supporting DHL Group’s sustainability roadmap, targeting 60% of its global delivery fleet to be electrically powered by 2030

What’s more, with more than 30 operations and management staff, DHL said the new service center can process up to 2,000 pieces per hour, handling both U.S. domestic as well as time-definite international shipments to and from the 225 countries and territories served by DHL Express.

Local package delivery growth has been driven by B2B and B2C e-commerce shipping, as well as companies that provide services for federal contractors and other organizations associated with the U.S. government, it said.