Danzas AEI Emirates opened its $50 million multi-purpose logistics facility in Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone.
The 80,000-square meter (861,000 square foot) facility is the largest of its kind in the Middle East, says Danzas. ''An increasing number of companies from diverse industries including Lifescience, Automotive and Technology have chosen Dubai as an attractive production and logistics location.” said Hermann Ude, CEO DHL Global Forwarding. “The Gulf is ideally positioned, with access not just to Europe, Africa and Asia, but also to the fast developing Indian subcontinent and its huge manufacturing output,” he continued. “Our global experience of aligning logistics services with trade lanes will be further enhanced by the integrated, innovative services provided at the new Jafza facility.”
The official opening was performed by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the President of the Department of Civil Aviation and CEO and Chairman of Emirates Group, H.E. Ahmed H Al Tayer, Chairman of Danzas AEI Emirates LLC, Hermann Ude, CEO DHL Global Forwarding, Freight and Enver Moretti, CEO and President, EMA Region, DHL Global Forwarding. The event was attended by Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Executive Vice Chairman, DP World and Group CEO, Port & Free Zone World, Salma Hareb, CEO of Economic Zones World, parent organization of Jafza. Danzas AEI Emirates LLC is a joint venture between Al Tayer Group LCC and DHL Management Ltd, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post World Net.
The Chairman of Danzas, H.E. Ahmed H Al Tayer, said that the investment in the new high tech facility demonstrated an ongoing belief in the significance of Dubai as a global business hub. With the global freight market set to reach $1.4 trillion by 2020, and the Gulf imports and exports reaching $320 billion at the end of 2007, the new facility is an essential addition to the Danzas service portfolio, according to Enver Moretti, CEO and President, EMA Region, DHL Global Forwarding.
“I see a definite trend for the larger multi-nationals to both outsource and expect the same standards, processes, behaviors and performance throughout their global networks. For us this is more and more about bringing excellence to the market, acting as a change agent and demonstrating what really can be achieved when ‘best-in-class’ capability is deployed,” said Moretti.
The facility, with a built up area of 54,000 square meters, is fully air-conditioned and includes 6,700 square meters of office space and an 8,000 square meter temperature controlled, life sciences distribution center. The building was constructed using 3,000 metric tonnes of steel and 12,050 cubic metres of concrete and is equipped with world-class security infrastructure that will be certified under the Technology Asset Protection Association (TAPA) guidelines.
