DHL was founded in 1969 in San Francisco, California, by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn, who combined the initials of their surnames to name the company. It is now a multinational logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, headquartered in Bonn, Germany as part of DHL Group, formerly Deutsche Post, which took a controlling stake in 2001 and full ownership by 2002. DHL delivers more than 1.7 billion parcels a year, operates about 250 aircraft across six airline subsidiaries, employed around 580,000 people as of the first quarter of 2025, and reported annual revenue of 84.186 billion euros for 2024. DHL Express ranks among the market leaders for parcel services in Europe and is a major global competitor to FedEx and UPS.
Facts
Founded Year SignificanceDHL Express, a subsidiary and namesake of DHL Group, is one of the market leaders for parcel services in Europe. 1 Headquarters In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Germany, located there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: DHL
WikipediaWikipedia DHL article, History section
The company DHL itself was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1969 and expanded its service throughout the world by the late 1970s.
Wikipedia DHL article, lead paragraph, first sentence
DHL (originally named after founders Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn) is a multinational logistics company, founded in the United States and headquartered in Bonn, Germany.
Wikipedia DHL article, lead paragraph, third sentence
A subsidiary and the namesake of DHL Group, its express mail service DHL Express is one of the market leaders for parcel services in Europe.
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