Gillette Group Poland and DHL Solutions, business unit of DHL, the world's leading global express delivery and logistics company, jointly opened today a logistics center at Da?browa G'rnicza (Katowice) that will become one of Gillette's largest distribution centers in Europe. The more than 167,000 square foot (15,528 square meter) center will supply Gillette products to customers across Central Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia, as well as to customers in distributor markets in Africa and Asia.

"We have chosen Poland because of its geographic location, market size, and conditions created for foreign investors," said John J. Jensen, Value Chain Director, Central Europe East, for Gillette. "It is a new development in our strategy of strengthening our presence in Poland, within which we are also building a modern manufacturing, packaging and warehouse facility, a 120 million euro investment."

Gillette has been co-operating with DHL since 1999. To date, this co-operation includes goods storage in a ?'dz' warehouse, supply of Gillette products to customers in Poland, and to the distributors in Far and Near East and former Yugoslavia. The new three-year agreement between Gillette and DHL ensures co-operation in complex logistics handling at a new warehouse in Da?browa G'rnicza. DHL's investment totaled about 2.5 million euro.

"We are proud that Gillette has chosen DHL for handling one of the largest logistics centers in Europe," said Piotr Iwaniuk, Managing Director, for DHL Logistics Poland. "As we provide complex logistics solutions for the entire supply chain, we are able to offer to our customers services tailored exactly to their needs and requirements."

In addition to standard goods storage, DHL will offer services such as goods confectioning, stickering, and re-packing according to specific needs of various commercial operators, special packing for promotion purposes, PCV foil packing and welding. The Da?browa G'rnicza logistics center will employ over 200 staff.