• DHL has operated in Poland since 1991, expanding from an initial express operation to all five DHL business divisions and almost 10,000 employees. Poland is now DHL Group’s largest CEE market and the sixth-largest economy in the EU, with GDP reaching €923 billion in 2025.
• DHL opened its €180 million International Logistics Center in Robakowo near Poznań in 2024, capable of sorting 45,000 parcels per hour and up to one million parcels a day during peak periods. The investment reflects Poland’s growing role in offshoring and nearshoring, supported by its position on major European transport corridors.
• DHL Express is planning a major new cargo facility at Katowice Airport to strengthen export links from one of Poland’s key industrial regions. The company is also using data and digitalisation to streamline documentation and shipment processing, while connecting Polish businesses with more than 200 countries and territories.

DHL began its operations in Poland in 1991, the same year that Tim Berners Lee opened the World Wide Web at CERN to the public, and the first lithium-ion battery was commercially launched by Sony. Under the backdrop of a Soviet Union breaking apart, and the Maastricht Treaty setting out the initial plans for a
European Union, DHL was establishing its office base amid changes in technology in geopolitics that are still having a profound impact today.

Today, Poland has become the largest economy in Central and Eastern Europe, and the sixth largest economy in the European Union, with its GDP reaching €923 billion in 2025. This noteworthy transformation is explained by its GDP per capita doubling since 2005. Twenty years of national economic transformation.
Poland’s Ministry of Economic Development and Technology has named air freight as a driver in this service export, as 2025 represented another year of sector growth, 7 percent more year on year,

DHL has arguably played a role in this transformation for over three decades. When it first opened its offices in Warsaw, it integrated Poland into its global air network, facilitating international express trade in an era when Polish priorities were to rapidly open the country to foreign investment and global commerce.

An anecdote from Tomasz Burás, Country Manageing Director Poland at DHL Express highlighted these changing dynamics. Part of medical device manufacturer’s desire to be based in Lublin, the ninth biggest city in Poland, is the close concentration of highly capable biomedical and bioscience graduates in its immediate area.

Poland is now one of the DHL Groups’ top ten largest markets for employment, with almost 10,000 employed across its five business divisions that are now present in the country. It connects Poland and Polish businesses to more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Changes to operations in 35 years
DHL first moved to Poland with one wing of its business model. Now, all five offerings are based in the country, from DHL eCommerce to DHL Express. DHL Express Poland currently employs roughly 1,000 professionals, and operates 16 service centres, with 3,149 service points and four dedicated aircraft

In 2024, DHL opened its €180 million International Logistics Center in Robakowo near Poznań, which it claims as one of the largest and most advanced logistics hubs in Europe. The facility can sort 45,000 parcels per hour and process up to one million parcels per day during peak periods. This level of investment and sale of operation shows the level of growth DHL says it has experienced in the Polish market. The Robakowo centre in particular sits on important European transport corridors. “Poland is a preferred desination for off-shoring and near-shoring,” explains Burás, “some companies are growing so quickly that they are looking to Poland to complete these aims.”

Looking ahead
This year DHL Express announced plans to construct a major new cargo facility at Katowice Airport, strengthening export connectivity for one of Poland’s most industrialised regions and reinforcing the country’s role as a European manufacturing and trade hub.

Investment, time and digitalisation of its operations give no indication that DHL is slowing its growth in this region. The growing capabilities technology is offering are equally clear. “With integrated supply chain [like DHL’s], we can optimise the flow. With data we can make sure all paperwork is completed on the data driven supply chain before the shipment take-off and begin processing this in transit to minimise times and delays for customers.”

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