This is the new bpost mail centre in Puurs
After you deposited your parcel with postal code 2870, 2860, or 2880 into a red postbox or at the bpost counter, it passes through a sorting centre. Then it ends up in the brand-new mail centre in Puurs, where it is picked up together with other parcels and letters by the letter carrier on duty. Frank De Groote, Property Development Project Manager for Northern Belgium at bpost, gives a brief explanation.
Centralised mail centres
When it comes to mail centres, bpost consciously opts for a centralised location. Frank explains, “The volume of correspondence is falling, the volume of parcels is rising, and buildings cost money. In order to reduce the number of buildings from 584 to 140, we are systematically looking for centralised locations where we can cluster our mail centres for a few municipalities. All mail for Bornem, Puurs, and Willebroek has been going to one centralised point in Puurs, a mail centre of 2,800 m², since 2019. It’s small compared to the other mail centres, which are up to 6,000 m² in size. Add a large car park to that and you’ll soon have more than a hectare.”
Well-being first
“Although we’re renting the building from WDP, bpost itself invested another 3 million euros,” says Frank. “Especially for the well-being of our employees. This includes things like insulation according to the latest standards, a workshop heated up to 19°C, sufficient ventilation, safe gates, 500 lux lighting, so that the address details on the letters and parcels are legible, etc. And the future has also been considered, such as facilities for an electric vehicle fleet.”
“The fact that our technical requirements are so high is precisely the reason for why it’s not easy to outsource. But WDP knows our demands and is always willing to brainstorm with us. They’ll even propose subcontractors and meet our needs. In short, WDP is a flexible partner,” Frank concludes.
How’s it going at bpost? Wim Mondelaers, mail centre manager at Puurs, gives you a look behind the façade of the new mail centre in Puurs.
