Swiss Post Opens New Parcel Center in Rümlang (ZH)

The conveyor belts in the new regional parcel center in Rümlang (ZH) are running at full speed: The Post will sort around 5000 parcels here per hour. With the opening of the Rümlang parcel center today, the Post is further expanding its logistics network. The regional parcel center brings the Post closer to its customers, ensures shorter transport routes, and allows for faster and more environmentally friendly processing of parcels.

(Rümlang) After about a year of construction, the new regional parcel center in Rümlang (ZH) is now in operation. The machines are running at full speed and sorting around 5000 parcels per hour for the Greater Zurich-North area. The Post has invested a total of 11 million francs in the renovation of the former industrial hall, creating around 60 new jobs in the municipality of Rümlang. This is also welcomed by Government Councillor Carmen Walker Späh. “The Canton of Zurich welcomes this step and sees the investment as a commitment by the Post to the location in Zurich Unterland. We are pleased that the Post is creating new jobs in the region,” said the head of the Department of Economic Affairs of the Canton of Zurich at the opening. And Stefan Nolte, Head of Logistics Services Operations at the Post, explains: “The parcel center in the Riedmatt industrial area is a stroke of luck.” Logistics spaces in existing industrial areas are scarce, and the location near the highway is ideal from a traffic perspective. Access roads are far from residential areas, so the population is not affected.

The new parcel center ensures shorter routes and protects the environment

The Corona pandemic has significantly accelerated the development of online commerce, and the Post continues to expect increasing parcel volumes. Volumes that it wants to process efficiently and deliver on time in the future. The Post is tackling this challenge. It is already planning and investing today. The goal: The Post is expanding its sorting and delivery infrastructure and enlarging its logistics network by modernizing existing facilities and opening more new regional parcel centers. “In doing so, the Post focuses on proximity to its customers and short distances,” says Operations Manager Stefan Nolte. The parcels sent to and from the region are increasingly sorted directly in the region. How this works in practice is demonstrated by the new location in Rümlang. Thanks to the new center, the Post can shorten processing times for parcels, avoid long transport distances, and thus protect the environment. Previously, the Post processed parcels to and from Zurich Unterland also in Frauenfeld and Urdorf – this will no longer be necessary in the future.
Besides Rümlang, the Post will also put new regional parcel centers into operation in Buchs (AG) and Pratteln (BL) by early 2023. In the coming years, the opening of additional centers near the metropolitan areas of Basel, Bern, and Zurich will follow – planning is in full swing. “This secures the core business of the Post, our position as the leading logistics provider in Switzerland, and creates new jobs,” emphasizes Stefan Nolte. This is entirely in line with the new corporate strategy “Post of Tomorrow,” whose stated goal is also to make significant investments in logistics.

The Post invests around 1.5 billion in parcel processing by 2030

By 2030, the Post aims to double its capacities in parcel processing. At that time, at least 15 locations for parcel sorting should be in operation. The Post wants to meet the increasing parcel volumes as well as the needs of its customers and provide a high-quality public service for the population and businesses in Switzerland. For this, it is investing around 1.5 billion francs and creating a total of 1500 full-time positions. The Post is thus seamlessly continuing its recent past. In the last five years, it invested 250 million francs in parcel processing. Since 2019, the Post has opened four new regional parcel centers – in 2019 in Cadenazzo (TI) and in 2020 in Ostermundigen (BE), Vétroz (VS), and Untervaz (GR).

Location Rümlang: the concrete benefits for the region

• Many parcels for the Zurich-North region were previously transported by the Post from the regional parcel center in Urdorf through the Gubrist tunnel. Since Rümlang is significantly better located for this region from a traffic perspective, the bottleneck of Gubrist with evening traffic jams is eliminated for the Post – and thus also frequent delays.
• The distribution base in Bülach is and remains an important location for Zurich Unterland. From here, the Post will continue to organize the delivery of parcels and letters to households. However, the travel distance from the Rümlang parcel center is now significantly shorter. This saves time and protects the environment.
• With the opening of the parcel center, now every 120th employee in Rümlang works for the Post – in the service sector, it is even every 90th employed person.

Image: © Swiss Post AG