DHL, the world's leading logistics company, is investing $47 million on a new 193,000 square foot sorting facility at its Cincinnati /Northern Kentucky International Airport hub to meet growing demands of its shipping customers.

The expansion will create approximately 280 new jobs over the next 12 months. The new sort building is expected to be operational by November 2012, while other improvements to existing buildings and the purchase of material handling equipment will be completed by March 2013.

"Our multi-million dollar expansion builds upon DHL's commitment to the U.S.market and our longstanding investment in the CVG hub, which is an integral part of our Americas network," said Stephen Fenwick, DHL Express Regional Chief Executive Officer. "This expansion will provide the additional infrastructure and efficiency needed to handle the continued growth in international shipments that we're seeing in this region."

"Since DHL first opened a facility at CVG in 1983, it has been a great partner to the State of Kentucky and Boone County," Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear said. "We are pleased that DHL continues to invest in our state, and we will be working closely with the company to facilitate its growth and to create good paying jobs."

The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority provided a $1.5 million tax incentive and Boone County also provided funding to facilitate expansion.

"This investment in Cincinnati and continued shipment growth we are experiencing is a result of the great service quality being delivered by the DHL global network where the CVG hub and the employees here play such a critical role," said Travis Cobb, vice president for U.S.network operations.

Processing more than two million international shipments a month, DHL's Cincinnati hub connects to a global network spanning Asia, Europe and the Americas. With this current expansion, DHL will have invested $105 million since establishing its hub at the Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky airport. Staffing has also grown, from 1,600 in late 2009 to approximately 2,000 currently. It is scheduled to expand to nearly 2,300 over the next 12 months.