Amazon opens new logistics hub in Castellón province

ONLINE retail giant Amazon has just opened yet another logistics centre in Spain – this time outside of its usual target areas in and around the country's biggest cities.

Since Amazon's launch in Spain in 2011and the creation of Amazon.es, packing and storing hubs, among other operations, have nearly all been set up in or close to Madrid and Barcelona.

But this time, the massive plant opened in the last few days is in Onda, a town of around 25,000 inhabitants in the east-coast province of Castellón.

Often taking a back seat to the other two, much more populous and cosmopolitan provinces in the Comunidad Valenciana region - Valencia and Alicante - Castellón is far quieter, more rural and less densely inhabited.

Although it borders to the north on the Catalunya province of province of Tarragona – home to holiday hotspots such as Reus and Salou – and its southern coastline is the well-known Costa Azahar, Castellón province has seen very little incursion by foreign tourists and expats, and its best-known beach towns, one of which is the music festival capital of Benicàssim, are rarely busy even in high summer.

Onda is close to the provincial capital city of Castellón de la Plana (170,300 inhabitants) and Vila-real, or Villarreal (51,000 residents), the two largest municipalities in the province in terms of headcount which, combined, make up nearly half the total number living in Castellón's 135 towns and villages.

The new Amazon warehouse, the size of eight football pitches, is a welcome feature for Onda and surrounding areas, since it will provide jobs with a multi-national firm in an otherwise very rural area which does not often get a bite of the corporate apple.

About four million outsized packages can be stored there at any one time, and the centre will instantly create in region of 500 permanent jobs.

These jobs are not just for packing and stacking – many of them are, but Amazon reveals it has openings for everyone from entry-level staff with only compulsory school-leaving qualifications through to candidates with PhD-standard studies, a scope encompassing recruits from first-jobbers through to those with decades of experience.

Engineers, financial analysts, operations managers, technology specialists, HR, risk management and health and safety experts, and warehouse workers are all needed, according to head of Amazon Customer Fulfilment in Spain, Italy and France, Fred Pattje.

The logistics centre in Onda will support Amazon Spain's 'First Mile' delivery programme, which allows for fresh produce to be dropped off at homes and collection points.

This is not the first Amazon hub to open in the region, although previous ones have been close to, or in, Spain's third-largest city, Valencia – the distribution centre in Picassent and the earlier one in Paterna, launched in 2017, together with Amazon Fresh in the Valencia metropolitan area – or in the large tourist cities of Alicante and Murcia, where a warehouse was set up in each in the last five years.

Ever since the global corporation 'landed' in Spain 11 years ago, it has made no secret of its desire to continue to invest and expand in the country.

The launch of Amazon.es was also welcome to European expats in Spain, and has proven helpful to those from Britain since Brexit sparked higher delivery costs and customs fees for UK-origin orders destined for the EU.

As an international firm, Amazon is multi-lingual, meaning customers who order from Amazon Spain can request to talk or write to an English-speaking agent if necessary.

This has proven helpful for UK residents sending gifts to family members in Spain via Amazon.es, now much more in demand as a cheaper alternative to posting items bought for them in Britain.

Amazon supports thousands of local businesses in Spain, including small, family-run shops and one-man-bands, enabling them to trade outside their local area and abroad.