DHL history

When Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn founded DHL in 1969, they didn’t know they would revolutionize the world of logistics.

Since 1969 when it began as an air-courier service from California to Hawaii, the firm has grown phenomenally and dominates the global express marketplace, delivering to over 70,000 destinations in 227 countries.

1971 - DHL expands its network © Deutsche Post DHL Group

In 1972, the three original investors recruited Po Chung, a Hong Kong entrepreneur, to help them build a global network.

Known as an avid though reckless pilot (he had survived a previous crash and had his pilot's license suspended), Hillblom, who had withdrawn from DHL's daily operations in 1980, was killed in a seaplane accident near Saipan where he lived.

The only major competitor in the overnight market was Federal Express (FedEx), which did not open its first international service until 1981, expanding to Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In 1982, for example, the French post office sought to reassert a monopoly dating back to the 15th century, and DHL--possessing 80 percent of the French market--was ordered to halt operations outside Paris.

The management at DHL was soon embroiled in an ugly controversy after Hillblom's 1982 will was released, as a spate of paternity claims and lawsuits were filed.

While each company acted as the exclusive agent for the other, by 1983 DHL International had grown to be five times larger than its domestic counterpart.

DHL continued to expand its horizons, though, adding Eastern bloc nations in 1983.

Prior to 1983, DHL had not pursued much business in the United States, leaving the field to Federal Express and United Parcel Service (UPS). Despite counting 97 percent of the nation's 500 largest companies among its customers, DHL still held only a minuscule share of the overall domestic market.

In addition, in 1983 DHL Worldwide started using helicopters in New York and Houston to expedite documents during rush hour and the following year initiated helicopter service in Los Angeles as well.

Still, for the year ending in 1983, DHL reached only two or three percent of the domestic market--yet had more than 5,000 employees with 400 offices in over 90 countries.

The company had first cracked the eastern bloc in 1983, when it began delivering packages to Hungary, East Germany, and several other countries.

In 1984, as former courier-driver Joseph Waechter became president of DHL Airways, DHL provided service to more than 125 countries, and its 500 stations were handling 15 million international and domestic shipments annually.

1989 Celebrations take place around the world to mark the 20th anniversary of the beginning of DHL.

In 1989, DHL Worldwide was the 84th largest company in the United States with 18,000 employees, more than 50 million shipments, and service to 184 countries.

Cartoonist Gary Larson, creator of the wildly popular comic "The Far Side," was employed to draw cartoons for use in DHL advertising, and in 1990 the company introduced a campaign featuring flying DHL vans whizzing past competitors' planes.

In 1990, in order to infuse the company with fresh capital and take advantage of the resources of larger airlines, DHL International sold parts of its business to three companies.

In 1991, DHL Worldwide had revenues of $2.3 billion, and was the 59th largest private company in the United States, its 21,000 employees handling more than 80 million shipments.

By 1994, DHL Worldwide's 25-year anniversary, the company controlled 52 percent of the Asian express shipment marketplace, with FedEx and UPS garnering a 24 percent slice each.

The second postal reform, primarily administrative in nature, goes into effect in early 1995 based on the Posts and Telecommunications Reorganization Act.

A new $60 million hub at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport was scheduled to open in late 1995, with additional facilities slated for Bangkok, Tokyo, Auckland, and Sydney.

Yet 1995 was still a good year for DHL Worldwide, as the company debuted its web site (www.dhl.com) and experienced an overall 23 percent growth in revenue to $3.8 billion, with an incredible 40 percent surge in volume in its Middle East operations.

1996 - Fast parcel delivery thanks to extensive investment

In 1996, DHL was looking to the future again by announcing plans for a $100 million hub in the Midwest to carry the company through the next two decades.

Sales: $4 billion (1996 est.)

The federal regulatory tasks that were still necessary were initially assumed by a department in the Federal Posts and Telecommunications Agency (dissolved in 1997). The second postal reform was characterized by privatization and preparation for further liberalization of the postal markets.

1997 - The age of globalization dawns at Deutsche Post

When investment was completed in 1998, the network consisted of 83 high-tech production centers.

1999 DHL opens the company's largest US service centre in Sunnyvale, California, catering for booming high technology shipments from Silicon Valley.

2000 DHL launches the world's first global SMS tracking service to allow customers to track DHL shipments via text messages wherever they can use a mobile phone.

Environmental activities are coordinated by the corporate department for "Policy and Environment" created in 2001.

By the end of 2002, Deutsche Post had acquired all of DHL's remaining stock, and absorbed the operation into its Express division.

In 2002, DHL Introduced a new red-and-yellow color scheme and logo.

In August 2003, Deutsche Post acquired Airborne Express and began its integration into DHL.

DHL Airways, Inc., which handled all US domestic flights, was renamed ASTAR Air Cargo in 2003, following a management buyout.

On 8 November 2004, DHL Express invested €120 million in an Indian domestic courier, Blue Dart, becoming the majority shareholder in the company.

2004 - Postbank goes public

A planned expansion by DHL at Brussels Airport created a political crisis in Belgium in 2004.

In 2005, Deutsche Post made an offer to buy the contract logistics company Exel plc, which had just acquired Tibbett & Britten Group.

2006 - "First Choice" service campaign The Group, with its brands DHL, Deutsche Post and Postbank, seeks to become the first choice for all customers with the "First Choice" service campaign.

In 2006, DHL won a ten-year contract worth £1.6 billion to run the NHS Supply Chain, part of the United Kingdom's National Health Service.

2007 - Opening of the DHL Innovation Center

In a 50/50 joint venture with Lufthansa Cargo, DHL Express co-founded a new cargo airline, AeroLogic, in 2007, based at Leipzig/Halle Airport.

2008 - Leipzig/Halle air hub opens © Deutsche Post DHL Group

In April 2009, UPS announced that DHL and UPS had terminated negotiations without an agreement for UPS to provide airlift for DHL packages between airports in North America.

In 2009, Alexis Spraic’s documentary film entitled “Shadow Billionaire” was produced on this subject.

Since 2009, the company has also been the largest sponsor of the German partner, Teach First Deutschland.

Deutsche Post has installed a total of 288 sorting machines for standard and compact letters as well 87 machines for Großbrief and Maxibrief items since 2009, an investment of around EUR400 million.

2012 - Market position in Asia expanded © Deutsche Post DHL Group

In 2013, the company opened a newly expanded and upgraded global hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Kentucky.

2021 - Accelerated roadmap to decarbonization © Deutsche Post DHL Group