Hitachi Data Systems opens European Distribution Centre in The Netherlands

The state-of-the-art distribution centre is energy neutral, and is the first building of its kind to limit its use of natural resources, with no use of natural gas at all. It is also the largest unsubsidized solar project on a single building in Europe, with 6,200 solar panels (17,000m2) on the roof of the building, with a capacity of 1.4MW.

The new EDC is almost two and half times larger than its predecessor in nearby Waardenburg, at around 22,000m2, demonstrating the huge growth of Hitachi Data Systems in Europe over the past 20 years, and the importance of The Netherlands as a European hub. The EDC will employ 130 people, and will allow HDS to host partners and customers in the new briefing centre.

In addition to allowing an increased volume of products to be distributed across the region, the EDC will house a testing centre that will drive innovation by enabling HDS to construct fully-tested, personalised proof-of-concept models for customers. The solutions can then be shipped across Europe, ready for immediate use. Because this important step was previously carried out through the HDS distribution centre in the United States, the new EDC ensures a more efficient route to European markets.

“We’d outgrown our previous distribution centre and have been planning the design of this iconic building for many years to make it fit in with the local environment, be scalable for our growing business, and be a great place to work,” said Frans van Rijn, executive vice president global supply chain, Hitachi Data Systems. “We invite customers and partners to visit the centre and use it as a place to develop new world-class information solutions.”