DHL, the international express services provider, has expanded its footprint in Southern California to accommodate a growing demand for its global shipping services.

The new 66,730-square-foot service center in Santa Ana adds more than 27,000 square feet to the company’s previous facility in Irvine, and reflects the significant increase in shipment volumes that DHL is handling.

The Santa Ana service center serves a swath of Southern California that reaches from San Clemente to Brea. The popularity of Orange County among Fortune 500 companies, as well as small and medium-sized businesses, has helped to fuel the need for additional warehouse space to handle both the number of routes and volume of packages that DHL handles daily.

The new location is five miles closer and approximately 20 minutes faster to and from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), resulting in earlier delivery times and later cut-off times for international shipping customers.

“The need for a larger facility in Southern California points to the robustness of the economy here and the faith that customers have in DHL to manage their international shipments,” said John Cornish, general manager for DHL Express U.S. “We wanted to be responsive to the region’s growth.”

The new service center facility can process more than 1,400 pieces per hour and handles a variety of shipments, including international small parcels as well as palletized and container freight.

The $6.2 million investment marks the second west coast expansion that DHL has made in the last several months. The company announced a new facility at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in September.

Employees based at the new DHL Santa Ana service center include management, dock workers, agents, and sales personnel. The new facility accommodates more than 45 pickup and delivery routes.