DHL Group has expanded its parcel distribution center at Cologne-Eifeltor in northwest Germany, adding new capacity to support rising package volumes from both businesses and consumers across the region.
The company’s domestic Germany delivery unit officially opened the extension on Tuesday, bringing the facility’s sorting capacity to nearly 50,000 parcels per hour.
The investment is designed to accommodate continued growth in parcel volumes in northwest Germany, with Cologne serving as a major economic and logistics hub and one of the country’s most densely populated regions.
The additional space will also create room for 250 new employees. Once recruitment is completed, the Cologne-Eifeltor facility will employ around 750 people.
The expansion forms part of DHL Group’s broader effort to reshape its German postal and parcel network as traditional letter volumes decline while e-commerce continues to drive demand for parcel deliveries.
DHL’s Post & Parcel division is investing more than €1 billion per year over several years — equivalent to approximately $1.16 billion — to modernize and restructure the network. The program includes adjusting the size and capacity of parcel and letter centers, as well as expanding automation and digitalization.
“With the expansion of the Cologne-Eifeltor parcel center, we are making a targeted investment in the performance of our network. Online retail continues to grow, and our customers rightly expect fast and reliable delivery,” said Marc Hitschfeld, head of operations for Post & Parcel Germany at DHL Group, during the facility’s official opening ceremony.
Post & Parcel Germany operates through both the DHL and Deutsche Post brands.
The Cologne-Eifeltor parcel center has been operating since 1994 and currently handles deliveries for approximately 1.2 million households. Construction on the new extension began in 2024 and was completed on schedule during the summer of 2026.
The new building is directly linked to the existing parcel center by a bridge, creating a larger integrated operation rather than a separate facility.
With the expansion, Cologne-Eifeltor now has the same sorting capacity as the former largest parcel center in North Rhine-Westphalia, which is located in Bochum.
Across Germany, only DHL’s parcel center in Aschheim, near Munich, has a higher sorting capacity. That facility can process approximately 72,000 parcels per hour.
The Cologne expansion was constructed on the site of a building that was previously demolished. DHL equipped the new facility with a range of energy-saving technologies intended to reduce its environmental and operational footprint.
Among the measures is a solar array installed on the roof of the extension. The main hall is equipped with underfloor heating, while automatic ventilation controls reduce the need for air conditioning. Demand-controlled LED lighting has also been installed throughout the facility.
A green roof provides additional thermal insulation. According to DHL, the system helps reduce energy consumption during the winter while also limiting excessive heat buildup during the summer.
The expansion reflects DHL’s wider modernization of its domestic German network, where parcel demand continues to increase as consumers and businesses rely more heavily on e-commerce deliveries.
Post & Parcel Germany is Europe’s largest postal service provider. It dominates Germany’s letter and parcel market and also operates the country’s largest parcel locker network.
