Flatpack furniture retailer IKEA has opened its first distribution centre in Ireland, which is designed to deliver up to 3 million items a year.

The 27,000 sqm distribution centre has a storage capacity of 20,000 cubic metres and is capable of housing up to 9,000 different product lines.

IKEA expects the distribution centre to make more than 300,000 deliveries in the first year of operation, with that figure almost doubling to nearly 600,000 within five years. 

Eventually the facility, which will employ 200 people, is expected to be able to deliver 3 million items a year.

“The opening of Ireland’s first IKEA distribution centre will greatly benefit our customers through faster and more reliable deliveries,” says Jakob Bertilsson, country customer fulfilment manager for IKEA Ireland and UK

IKEA says the multi-million-euro building is one of the most sustainable and energy-efficient logistics facilities in Ireland, with a building energy rating (BER) of A2.

The Swedish company also says it’s transitioning to zero emission home deliveries in Ireland, promising all deliveries in the country will be made exclusively by zero-emission vehicles by August 2025.

The distribution centre will have an electric vehicle charging network, while IKEA’s 8 MW wind farm near Manorhamilton will also support the retailer’s transition to zero-emission deliveries and use of 100% renewable energy to power the distribution centre and IKEA’s flagship store in Ballymun, Dublin.

The new logistics facility will be operated by logistics firm and longstanding IKEA service provider, Wincanton, with deliveries to be carried out by XPO Logistics.