Amazon opening fourth logistics center in Catalonia

Barcelona (CNA).- Catalonia continues to play a central role in leading e-commerce company Amazon's strategy in Europe. The North American giant has announced the creation of a new logistics center in Martorelles, 20 kilometers north of Barcelona, which will become operational in the fall. The 30,000 m2 center is expected to serve the European market and will be located in Martorelles’Can Roca business park. The new center will initially employ 200 people but is expected to create 650 jobs over the next three years. This plant will complement Amazon’s operations in Greater Barcelona. Its first express delivery center in Europe is already based in the Catalan capital, while another logistics center operates out of Castellbisbal, about 30 kilometers northwest of the city. However, Amazon’s biggest investment in Catalonia is still to be completed. The company plans to open its largest logistics center in the south of Europe on a 15-hectare holding close to Barcelona's El Pratairport in the fall.

According to Amazon, Martorelles is “a key location”for their strategy in the south of Europe and in addition allows the company to “access excellent human resources”. Amazon’s Operations Director in Spain and Italy, Fred Pattie, said in a memo that the new plant will allow the company “to continue increasing the range of available products, respond to growing customers’demands, and support the international expansion of other enterprises”. In a similar sense, Catalonia's Minister for Business and Knowledge, Jordi Baiget, celebrated the news and assured that the creation of Amazon's newlogistics center “will also benefit Catalan SMEs”. 

The Martorellesplant will be Amazon’s fourth center to be located in Greater Barcelona. The e-commerce giant set up its first express delivery center in Europe in the center of the Catalan capital, at 89 RossellóStreet. The building was the previous headquarters of the Editorial Gustavo Gili publishing house and its huge basement makes it an appropriate choice considering Amazon’s activities. Another logistics center is already operational in Castellbisbal, around 30 kilometers northwest of Barcelona.

In addition, there is yet another Amazoncenter expected to become operational in the fall. The surface area of the new infrastructure will be 60,000 m2, the equivalent of 8 football pitches. Amazon emphasized that the chosen location, in the same village as Barcelona's El Prat airport, 10 kilometers south of Barcelona, is deliberate, as they will be able to take advantage of “territorial assets”such as El Prat airport but also the Port of Barcelona and “the economic sectors around the Llobregat delta”. Total investment in the new center will amount to 200 million euros and it is expected to create 1,500 jobs within three years of its opening.

Taking into account all of these projects, the e-commerce giant will create 2,500 jobs in Catalonia.