Amazon’s newest fulfillment center outside Rovigo, Italy officially opens

Amazon expects to create 900 new full-time jobs within three years of opening. The Rovigo facility is the third hub in Italy equipped with the latest technology by Amazon Robotics.

Rovigo, 17 September 2020 – Monday, September 21 marks opening day for Amazon’s latest fulfillment center, this one located in Castelguglielmo - San Bellino, in Italy’s northern province of Rovigo. The warehouse facility is the fifth such center opened by Amazon in Italy. The Castelguglielmo - San Bellino site joins the group which includes Castel San Giovanni (Piacenza), Passo Corese (Rieti), and Piedmont’s Vercelli and Torrazza Piemonte (Turin) sites. Amazon expects to create 900 new full-time jobs within three years at this latest facility.

This newest opening allows Amazon to expand its logistics network to take on the ever-increasing demand by customers across the peninsula. The opening allows them to expand their product offering while providing additional support for small and medium-sized enterprises who sell their merchandise across the Amazon.it platform and who use the “Logistics by Amazon” service; a program that provides sales and delivery services to third party vendors.

“Ten years after Amazon’s arrival in Italy, we’re thrilled to begin this new venture at our latest fulfillment center in Castelguglielmo - San Bellino. It will soon become an integral part of our Italian logistics network. Starting on Monday, we can count on one of the most advanced warehouses around to help us continue to bring the best possible services to our customers,” remarked Stefano Perego, Vice President of Amazon Operations for Europe. “We’ll continue working closely with local authorities while we carry on providing top services to customers. At the same time, we’ll continue protecting the health and safety of workers, as we have since the onset of the health crisis that we have all faced over the last few months and that is still ongoing.

We’ve proactively implemented numerous measures and modified over 150 procedures to protect our staff. From increasing cleaning across all our sites, introducing 2-meter safe distancing protocols, to making sure our delivery personnel keep a safe distance from customers when delivering packages. In Italy alone, we have ordered 131 million hand sanitizers, 14.8 rubber gloves, 5 million facemasks, protective visors and other nose and mouth guards. For more information concerning all of our safety measures implemented across our logistics network, visit our dedicated website.

As soon as health restrictions are lifted, Amazon intends on rebooting its free guided tour program for site visits at each of their facilities. Over the years, tens of thousands of persons have visited fulfillment centers in Castel San Giovanni and Passo Corese, finding out for themselves what actually happens after you click, “Buy Now” on Amazon.it.

The new Rovigo site marks the third such fulfillment center for Amazon Italia to be outfitted with the most advanced technology in the field, Amazon Robotics. The warehouse uses the most innovative technology available to assist workers in carrying out their duties. The new tech makes it easier and more efficient for staff due to reduced time spent moving around the facility. This is due to intelligent shelving units that move automatically to an ergonomically designed area where staff can process orders. Once the robots are in position, employees can easily pick up items, pack them and ship them off to customers.

In addition, the distribution hub is a fully sustainable structure, integrating energy efficiency and thereby reducing its environmental footprint, thanks to reduced emissions levels. Sustainable principles were applied throughout the construction of the site, bringing to light avant-garde solutions such as photovoltaic lighting systems for a total of over 2MW, systems for reducing power consumption, led lighting and a cooling and heating system that recoups energy while providing hot water without using methane gas, and siding and other materials that provide additional insulation. The building is managed by BMS, an intelligent system for building maintenance and was conceived entirely with the goal of receiving BREEAM certification from the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, passing with a “Very Good” rating. To preserve balance and biodiversity of the surrounding area, green areas and groves of local species have been planned to fit seamlessly into the area, once considered ‘industrial’.

Maurizio Passerini, Mayor of Castelguglielmo, stated that, “The launch of this much awaited Amazon facility was a note of good news for the entire Polesana area, and particularly, Castelguglielmo. We’re certain that this latest opening will bring additional social-economic benefits along with a touch of optimism for all the surrounding communities. Keep in mind that from the very onset of planning, we have been very careful to safeguard the environmental impact, seeing to it that works to mitigate waste have already been partially implemented.”

“Here we are, after working so hard to size up, engage and bring our utmost to integrate the complex Amazon reality into our area of the Polesine. It took a lot, and was a sort of ‘on-the-job training’ for me, personally; but one that allowed me to enhance my own skills and sharpen my tenacity. But it’s all been worthwhile. Nine hundred full-time jobs over the next three years is quite a big deal for our Rovigo province. People who can count on a stable work environment are able to make long term decisions for their families and I think this will also help mitigate emigration away from this area. Amazon is an important piece that interconnects with work already found in the area, in a marvelous jigsaw puzzle: the Polesine area. It’s high time we brought in a new, all-encompassing vision for the territory. After all, Amazon’s arrival extends to other types of jobs as well, catalyzing a win-win in terms of social-economic and cultural terms,” remarked Aldo D’Achille, Mayor of San Bellino.

“Being able to make deliveries in the time frame as promised by this advanced warehouse, is the direct result of the excellent teamwork by Amazon, local Authorities – in particular the Towns involved - the General Contractor, Techbau, our consultants and ourselves, all working in concert during an exceptionally trying time due to COVID-19. This is the third project that Amazon and P3 have worked on together, further affirming our partnership not just in Italy, but across Europe. We’re very proud of the positive impact that this project will have on the entire local community of Rovigo.” Jean-Luc Saporito, Chief Development Officer and Managing Director Italy of P3 Logistic Parks remarked.

In Italy’s Veneto region, the new facility joins two other Amazon sorting centers – in Vigonza (Padova) and in Verona. It will be an important factor in the economic and job growth across the area for Castelguglielmo, San Bellino and surrounding communities. Amazon salaries are some of the highest in the logistics sector, and include a number of benefits such as discounts off items purchased on Amazon.it and private medical insurance. Amazon also offers innovative opportunities to its staff, such as the Career Choice program that covers up to 95% of tuition and materials costs for staff to gain training or personal development.

Amazon has invested over 5.8 billion euro in since its arrival in Italy in 2010, creating over 6,900 full-time jobs that will see another 1,600 by year’s end. This brings its total number of employees to 8,500 across its 25 sites throughout Italy. This year alone, the Company has opened two new top-of-the-line fulfillment centers: in Castelguglielmo/San Bellino (Rovigo) and in Colleferro (Rome), while the two years prior saw Amazon opening various distribution hubs and sorting centers across the peninsula. Two additional urban distribution hubs were opened in Milano and Rome to serve Amazon Prime Now customers.

On top of these investments in its Italian logistics network, in 2013, Amazon opened its Customer Service center in Cagliari, alongside its Milanese corporate headquarters as well. In 2017, Amazon moved to its new corporate offices (17,500 square meters) in the emerging business district of Porta Nuova. The Company also opened a Development Center for research on speech recognition and natural language understanding to support the Alexa voice recognition technology.

Above and beyond full-time employment opportunities that Amazon continues to bring with it, the Company also provides support to entrepreneurs and business people looking to open an online store, either by taking an existing business online, or those desiring to expand their business. The Company offers various options available on its platform: from Marketplace for direct sales to customers, to utilizing the Amazon Logistics network for stocking and delivery of items through its FBA program (Fulfillment by Amazon). Italian companies selling merchandise through the Amazon.it portal have generated over 18,000 jobs, surpassing already in 2018, € 500 million in exports.

Amazon is guided by four main principles: Obsession with customer satisfaction over the competition, Passion for innovation, Dedication to operational excellence, and Long Term Vision. Customer reviews, 1-Click Shopping, Personal recommendations, Prime, Amazon Logistics, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo and Alexa are just some of the innovative products and services introduced to the world by Amazon.

For more information, visit: www.aboutamazon.com and follow @AmazonNewsItaly