Lublin Post's major investment completed. A modern parcel sorter worth PLN 50 million will speed up parcel processing.

Poczta Polska (Polish Post) has launched a new parcel sorter at its Lublin sorting facility. This is the second of three modern machines for automatic sorting of CEP (courier, express, and parcel) shipments that the company is putting into operation this year at its sorting facilities. In Lublin alone, Poczta Polska has allocated nearly PLN 50 million for this investment. Earlier, in May, a similar device was installed and launched in Wrocław.

The ceremony of the first launch of the new sorter was attended by, among others, Jan Kanthak, Secretary of State in the Ministry of State Assets – supervising Poczta Polska, the Voivode of Lublin – Lech Sprawka, the Deputy Marshal of the Lublin Voivodeship – Zbigniew Wojciechowski, the President of Beumer Poland Group – Jarosław Gorczyński, and Krzysztof Falkowski, the President of Poczta Polska and the Vice President Andrzej Bodziony.

The Cross Belt sorting machine is equipped with three manual feeders, one telescopic feeder, a two-station manual coding zone, 98 directional chutes, five special chutes, 48 ​​vertical chutes, and a seven-station manual feeding zone for small parcels directly onto the sorter trays. The total length of the sorter loop is 285 m, and its operating capacity allows for sorting approximately 7,000 parcels per hour (at a speed of 2.5 m/s for standard parcels).

The Lublin sorter is the second such device put into operation this year. In May, a sorter was launched at the Wrocław sorting plant, and the installation of another sorter in Lisi Ogon near Bydgoszcz is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of this year. In 2021, the Ministry of State Assets decided to recapitalize Poczta Polska (Polish Post) in the amount of PLN 190 million. These funds were allocated to the purchase and installation of modern sorters. The total capital expenditure allocated for this purpose is PLN 350 million.

As part of the Logistics Network Architecture (ASL) expansion project,  Poczta Polska is gradually transforming its logistics infrastructure from letter to parcel. This is the company's response to the changes observed in the postal market both in Poland and globally. The modernization and construction of logistics centers, along with their automated equipment, will ensure efficient service for the growing e-commerce market.

The sorter offers multi-dimensional automatic identification of tracking numbers encoded in all standard and non-standard single- and multi-dimensional codes, combined with recipient data obtained from shipping systems. Additionally, it recognizes the recipient's address using OCR directly from shipments or labels, providing significant potential for operational accuracy. It accelerates sorting and minimizes manual processing. The innovative nature of this solution is unique worldwide and unmatched by standard solutions used by competing operators.

The device is "tailor-made" and adapted to the operational needs of Poczta Polska, as well as the size and capacity of the sorting facility. The innovative solution will allow for universal use and the handling of various shipment sizes. The IT component is an integral part of this investment, both the system for automating the code reading process and integrating it with other IT systems of the Polish Post. Installation was performed by BEUMER Group Poland sp. z o.o.

The Lublin sorting facility serves a vital role in providing logistics services to contracted clients, handling several thousand entities in the shipping phase, including those in the e-commerce sector, the Public Finance Sector, and brick-and-mortar retail chains. Approximately 300,000 courier and letter items pass through the sorting facility daily.

Later this year, a sorting machine will also be commissioned at the company's logistics facility in Lisi Ogon near Bydgoszcz. Another strategic project currently underway by Poczta Polska is the lease and modernization of the Warsaw II sorting facility in Ciemne near Radzymin. This machine is scheduled for commissioning in the second quarter of 2024.