DHL Selects Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport for New U.S. Hub.

CINCINNATI/ERLANGER, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 18, 1998-- DHL Airways, Inc., the U.S. arm of the DHL Worldwide Express network, has selected the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport for the site of a new $170 million airline hub and sort facility to accommodate the increasing growth of the world's leading international air express network.

The decision comes after a comprehensive 24-month review of candidate locations throughout the Midwestern United States that evaluated criteria such as space availability, airport infrastructure, opportunity for expansion, the long term cost of operating a facility, weather conditions, location, availability and quality of labor, and the quality of life for employees.

Groundbreaking of the 150 acre project is contingent upon several factors, including approval and final contract execution by the Kenton County Airport Board, as well as the airport securing of infrastructure improvement funds, including a proposed grant from the state of Kentucky.

"For the past several years, DHL has experienced double digit growth in our international air express service," said Patrick Foley, chairman and CEO of DHL Airways, Inc. "In addition to growth in the number of shipments handled per day, the average weight per shipment has also increased. We need a larger hub to accommodate this increase in our business, as we have simply run out of room at our existing facility." Foley also noted that DHL has undergone six expansions at the current facility at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport since its inception in 1983.

Design of the new facility is currently underway, with completion targeted for the Fall of 2001. DHL currently employees 1,100 personnel at the existing hub facility and estimates that more than 700 new jobs will be created over the first 10 years of operation of the new hub. The company expects to sign a 30-year lease for the facility.

"We appreciate the fine efforts made by the officials in the locations we reviewed during the site selection process and thank them for their efforts," said Foley. "The strength of the proposals we received made this a very difficult decision for us. In the end, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky offered the proposal that best satisfied our rigorous selection criteria."

The new hub will serve as the transfer point for shipments between the U.S. and Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America. As the largest hub in the DHL Worldwide Express global network, the facility, when fully developed, will accommodate 65 aircraft and a throughput capacity of more than three million pounds of material each evening. More than 400,000 letters, packages and freight shipments will be unloaded, sorted and reloaded aboard aircraft for express delivery to their final destinations.

"We have a strong track record of success in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area and believe that we can continue to offer our customers better service with the investment in this new facility," said Foley. Foley noted that highly automated, state-of-the-art sortation equipment will provide even faster handling of express shipments. "Customers will benefit from later cutoff and earlier delivery times," said Foley.

The current hub facilities for DHL occupy 36 acres on the north end of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. The facility currently handles 45 aircraft and one million pounds of material each evening, employing 1,100. In 1996, DHL was the first air express carrier to receive ISO 9002 international quality certification simultaneously for its hub and airline operation at the current facility.

A report by the University of Cincinnati has projected that the DHL hub project will generate an economic impact of nearly $335 million, with approximately $150 million of direct spending entering the greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area economy. That spending will support more than 4,000 jobs.

DHL Worldwide Express is the world's largest and most experienced international air express network, linking more than 635,000 cities in more than 220 countries. DHL Worldwide Express is composed of DHL Airways, Inc., which serves all locations in the U.S. and its territories; and DHL International, Ltd. and its agents and affiliated companies, which serve all locations outside the U.S. and its territories. Visit the DHL website at http://www.dhl.com.

CONTACT: DHL Worldwide Express

Wendy Schmidgall, 650/802-4957

or

David Fonkalsrud, 415/307-9939, mobile in Cincinnati