Ontario Construction News staff writer
DHL’s new Hamilton Gateway, a $100 million project, is the company’s largest facility in Canada and will quadruple capacity, officials said last week at a ceremony.
The world’s leading express service provider officially built the new facility at Hamilton International Airport, to meet significant increase in shipping volumes. The new facility makes Hamilton International Airport Canada’s largest overnight cargo express delivery airport and fourth largest cargo airport.
“The Hamilton Gateway facility is a significant milestone for DHL and will modernize our operations in the Canadian market,” said Darryl Wettlaufer, VP of Operations for DHL Express Canada. “The new technology and services we’ve implemented, as well as the increased capacity for handling at the Hamilton Airport, will allow us to meet the double-digit sales growth we’ve seen in shipping.”
The Hamilton Gateway facility is four times the size of the previous one at 238,000 square feet, and features a fully-automated sort system with a capacity of processing 28,000 packages per hour. The Airport also has 24-hour landing capability with dedicated Canada Border Services Agency staff on site, which ultimately helped influence the company’s decision to expand in Hamilton, as the cargo hub of Ontario.
“We’re thrilled DHL is opening the doors to its new facility at the Hamilton International Airport,” said Hamilton Mayor, Fred Eisenberger. “The facility represents a significant investment by DHL Express in the City of Hamilton and demonstrates the importance of the international airport to create high-value jobs and economic prosperity for our city.”
DHL Express’ Hamilton facility previously employed 225 during peak season, with the expansion bringing about 150 more jobs to the area, some of those in the package sorting hub and others as part of the company’s delivery team.
The expansion responds to a drastic increase in shipping demand across the country over the past years. Since 2019, international trade has generated continuous growth in shipments per day for DHL Express in Canada, averaging at around 40 per cent growth.
“We are extremely excited and proud to officially celebrate the grand opening of DHL’s largest gateway facility in Canada (by volume) right here at Hamilton International Airport,” said Cole Horncastle, Executive Managing Director of John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.
“In addition to creating hundreds of front-line jobs in our region, this monumental investment into Hamilton ensures that DHL Express can continue operating on an upwards trajectory with the ability to meet the current and future demands of the rapidly growing logistics industry.”