DHL is a global shipping company founded in 1969 by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom, and Robert Lynn; the initials of the founders' last names form the company name. It is owned by Deutsche Post World Net and itself owns Securicor Omega.
DHL began as a courier service between San Francisco and Honolulu but in the next ten years expanded to the Philippines, other parts of Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Middle East. (In the early 1990s travelers in East Africa - perhaps western Tanzania - were able to travel on a scheduled "DHL Bus" there.)
In 2001, Deutsche Post World Net acquired a majority (51%) of DHL's shares, and the remaining 49% in 2002. The new DHL was launched by merging the old DHL, Danzas and Euro Express.
On August 15, 2003, Deutsche Post acquired Airborne Express, and began consolidating it into DHL.
DHL owns its own cargo airline, DHL Aviation. It currently operates out of Brussels International Airport in Belgium. In September 2004, a planned expansion of DHL activity at the airport's ___location (Zaventem) created a political crisis in Belgium [1]. On October 21, 2004, DHL announced that it would move its European hub from Brussels to either Leipzig, Germany, or Vatry, France. DHL's unions struck in response, paralyzing work on that day.
DHL has come under heavy criticism for its partnership with Myanmar Post and Telecom, a subsidiary of Myanmar's dictatorship government. In September 2004, the Burma Campaign UK officially listed Deutsche Post (the owner of DHL) on their boycott list.
See also
Worldwide links
- Main
- DHL.com - Links to each country's DHL website
- ABX Air
- Deutsche Post(DHL Helper)
- Other
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