Amazon officially inaugurated its new logistics center on Monday. in the municipality of So (Castellon), which will generate 500 jobs permanent, as the company reported in a statement.
Accompanied by the President of the Generalitat Valenciana, Ximo Puigand the mayor of Onda, Carmina Ballester, Fred Pattje, Amazon Customer Fulfillment Director in France, Italy and Spainpresented the center and visited the facilities.
Built on a plot of over 58,000 square meters -equivalent to eight football pitches-, and with more than 130,000 square meters dedicated to storage, this logistics center will support Amazon’s first mile operations in Spain, and will be used to store and manage up to four million high-end product units .size.
As Fred Pattje explained, are “delighted” to open this new logistics center in Ondain a region which – he said – has become a strategic point for its operations in Spain. “Additionally, we take special pride in creating jobs with industry-leading benefits, such as private health insurance and a pension plan, career development opportunities, and a safe work environment for all,” a- he added.
In this regard, he pointed out that Amazon has all kinds of jobs for all kinds of people, from those starting their careers to those with a doctorate; from those who have just graduated to people with decades of experience.
The new Onda logistics center has dozens of different rolesincluding engineers, operations managers, financial analysts, storekeepers, technological profiles or specialists in human resources and health and safety.
Amazon has a long relationship with the Valencian Community, since the opening in 2017 of the company’s first logistics station in Paterna. Since then, the company has opened two other logistics stations, in Alicante and Picassent, as well as an Amazon Fresh center in Valencia.
As Fred Pattje pointed out, in the Valencian Community There are 1,500 SMEs selling on the Amazon platformexceeding 100 million euros in international sales in 2020.
Moreover, he indicated that over the past two years, Amazon has created an average of more than 100 permanent jobs per week across the country and, “according to current growth forecasts, Amazon will be among the top 10 private companies with the largest number of employees in Spain.”
“Helpful” Policy
For its part, the mayor of Onda stressed that the city council is working to apply a “useful” policy, allied with entrepreneurship and innovationof competitiveness and leadership, of excellence and quality” because these ingredients “are synonymous with employment and, therefore, better economic and social opportunities for the inhabitants of Ondenses and Castellón”. “We have shown, and today we have the best example that effective public-private collaboration can bring good news to our province,” he added.
The President of the Generalitat, Ximo Puig affirmed that the “confidence and stability” generated by the Valencian Community are the key to attracting investments large companies and create more jobs.
The head of the Consell pointed out that the new facilities of this companywhich already has four others in the Valencian Community, they are the most important and will generate 500 permanent jobs. Likewise, he highlighted the “tractor effect” of the new center on Valencian businesses, given that more than 1,500 SMEs sell their products through Amazon.
During his speech, Ximo Puig spoke about the Comunitat Valenciana’s commitment to the “new knowledge-based industry”, with the impetus of “the best technological university in Spain, with a cutting-edge technological and training ecosystem and with trained workers”. In this sense, he encouraged the entrepreneurial fabric of the Valencian Community to take advantage of European funds to digitize their businesses, and pointed out that there are already 800 SMEs in Castellón who have requested these funds.
On another side, He also appreciated that the Onda logistics center contributes to the “rebirth of a powerful area in the industry like La Plana”which has been considered a “logistical golden triangle for the transport of goods” thanks to the connections to the north with the airport, the motorway, the port and the Mediterranean corridor, through the future intermodal station, and to the south with the Sagunt Park, its port, its future station and the Cantabrian and Mediterranean corridors, he specified.
Ultimately, the head of the Consell stressed that Amazon’s commitment is in addition to those recently announced by “the largest companies in the world” such as Volkswagen, Ford or HP, and insisted that “we must pursue this path to ensure that the big ones come and that they benefit everyone”. To do this, he stressed the need to plan and develop quality land “to be ready for future industrial needs” as is currently done in the Aerocas area or in Port Castelló.