ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
By ZAIDA GLIBANOVIC
HAVE no fear, FedEx is here and just in time for Christmas.
Everyone knows how busy those months leading into the festive season can be, with Victorians set to spend $17.1 billion on presents, 32 per cent of which will be spent online and need to be shipped, sorted and delivered.
Well I’m sure Santa Claus and his reindeer are very thankful that Morwell is now home to a FedEx Express logistics hub.
In a boost to the region’s economic activity, FedEX Express Australia has recently opened a new terminal in Morwell to support the growing express freight demand in south-eastern Victoria.
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp, is one of the world’s largest transport companies.
The new processing hub will support businesses both big and small across Gippsland to access domestic and international markets.
Servicing the growing needs of south-east Victoria, the new purpose-built facility spans more than 4987 square metres, is equipped with an advanced automated sorting system that can sort up to 1400 packages an hour.
Regional Victoria makes up 21 per cent of the small businesses in Victoria with a visible rise in small businesses in Gippsland over the past year.
The company suggested the growing needs of the area would make the facility a crucial touching point for connecting the region to the rest of the state, across the country and internationally.
For easy accessibility, the facility is strategically located near the highway and will provide express pick-up and delivery services to homes and business to Traralgon, Morwell, Moe, Maffra, Yarram, Warragul, Drouin and Leongatha regions.
Peter Langley, vice president of FedEx Express Australasia, said FedEx had been continuously strengthening its operational capabilities and innovating its products and services to help local businesses navigate the complex supply chain landscape in Australia.
“With our wide and deep domestic network within Australia, we support business owners to access their local, regional, and national consumers,” he said.
“By leveraging new facilities such as our new Morwell station and expanding regional capacity, we enable Australian businesses to move freight in a faster and more efficient manner to people and businesses across the country – no matter where they are located.”
In support of the FedEx goal to achieve carbon neutral operations by 2040 globally, the new facility is equipped with multi-faceted sustainable building features to reduce the impact on the environment. This includes the use of energy-saving LED lighting, as well as collecting and reusing rainwater on site.
The facility will look to continue to expand in size and workforce in the future.
“We expect to see an increase in businesses of all sizes seeking to access local and international markets, prompting us to look to expand our workforce for this new facility in the future,” Mr Langley said.
Latrobe City Mayor, Kellie O’Callaghan, said the new FedEx distribution centre in Morwell would benefit the local economy and provide new jobs.
“This purpose-built warehouse in Morwell will support employment opportunities through a range of roles from drivers, distribution centre staff and administration,” she said.
“In the last quarter of 2022, Latrobe City saw a significant increase in the transport, postal and warehousing sectors, creating 200 new job opportunities.”
