DHL, the world’s leading global express delivery and logistics company, announced plans to locate a new Regional Sort Center in Kansas City, Kan. DHL expects to invest $3 million over the next three years in the development of the new facility, which will immediately create 130 jobs in the local community.

“The new facility in Kansas City will enhance our network operation by enabling us to provide the highest quality service to our growing customer base across the country,” said Fred Beljaars, executive vice president for Operations at DHL. “The center is one element of our $1.2 billion investment program launched in 2004 to enhance DHL’s network connectivity, increase efficiency, and improve service for our customers.”

The new 68,678 square foot sort center facility will handle a variety of shipments, including letter and parcel items, palletized and container freight. While DHL already provides service to every ZIP Code in the country, the Kansas City Regional Sort Center will provide DHL with an expanded footprint for 1-day ground services to Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and parts of Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The facility will operate six days a week, has a sort capacity of 7,000 pieces per hour, and will serve 27 DHL service stations in the region. The Kansas City facility will begin operations on Sunday, September 11, 2005.

The new regional sort center is part of DHL’s continuing investment in its U.S. network, which includes the build-out of an expanded DHL Air & Ground Hub in Wilmington, Ohio, construction on a new West Coast Distribution Facility in Riverside, Calif., and significant expansion of an East Coast distribution facility in Allentown, Pa.

An additional seven new Regional Sort Centers were completed during 2004.