DHL to open new service centers

DHL to open new service centers

JAKARTA (JP): Leading courier service company PT Birotika
Semesta/DHL Worldwide Express plans to open new service centers
in Semarang and Medan this year ahead of an expected economic
turnaround in Asia, an executive said on Tuesday.

The center in Semarang will be operational in May and the one
in Medan in September, senior technical advisor Mike Fitzpatrick
said after the company accepted an ISO 9002 quality standard
certification at Shangri-La Hotel.

The Semarang and Medan facilities are part of DHL's
infrastructure investments in Indonesia to get ready for the
turnaround of the Asian economy, Fitzpatrick said.

"We're hoping that's going to be later this year, we've
already seen signs of things improving," he told The Jakarta
Post.

The new centers will complement DHL's existing 66 facilities
throughout the country.

DHL also plans to open its second airport facility at Ngurah
Rai International Airport in Denpasar, Bali, in April,
Fitzpatrick said.

Its first airport facility at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta
International Airport was opened in December.

The ISO 9002 award was presented by Singapore's Certification
International representative Dave Cheng Loon to Birotika managing
director Louise Pesik.

Fitzpatrick said DHL would strive to improve its services by
organizing customer focus groups at least twice a month.

The company plans to focus this year on the development of its
Asian services following successful campaigns to boost its
services to the United States in 1998 and Europe last year.

DHL Worldwide Express claims to hold about 50 percent of the
Indonesian market share. (10)