DHL bolsters its U.S. network with $74 million Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky investment

DHL eCommerce, a division of the world’s leading logistics company, DHL Group, announces it has opened a fully-owned 307,000 square-foot distribution center in Hebron, KY, 10 minutes from the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG). The company is combining three properties it leased in a business park in the CVG area into this larger, $74 million distribution center that will employ approximately 400 full and part-time employees.

The company has acquired a state-of-the-art Honeywell IntelliSort® cross-belt loop sorter capable of processing up to 50,000 parcels and packages per hour. In addition, the new facility will house an NPI Gen3 Xstream Dual Lane Sliding Shoe Sorter designed to process up to 24,000 domestic and international parcels and packages per hour. This distribution center represents the largest sorting and cross-dock hub in DHL eCommerce’s U.S. network, with the ability to unload up to 20 trucks per hour, sort and reload outbound trucks for final mile delivery.

The building is also the first distribution center in the DHL eCommerce U.S. network to be partially solar powered, with 684 solar panels generating approximately 25 percent of the building’s total energy. Other green features include three EV charging stations, a rainwater retention system to feed irrigation, and recycled construction material with steel and flooring. The facility has a Building Management System to monitor distribution center conditions and control all high-efficiency HVAC equipment.

“DHL eCommerce has been operating in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area for 20 years, and it’s considered one of our U.S. hubs for domestic and international shipments,” said Lee Spratt, DHL eCommerce, Americas. “This investment is our commitment to our customers to have the best footprint in strategic markets to get their goods in the hands of consumers as quickly as possible through automation while operating sustainably.”

The distribution center, located at 2300 Airport N. Drive, Hebron, KY 41048, includes four meeting rooms, one training room, 13 offices and 30 cubicle spaces. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky is part of DHL eCommerce’s five-year U.S. growth plan. Since February 2023, the company has relocated its Stow, OH; Phoenix, AZ; Salt Lake City, UT; Orlando, FL; and Kansas City, MO operations and opened a new distribution center in Chicago, IL in August.