Hermes has moved its parcel processing operation in Portbury, Somerset to a new build facility in Avonmouth, near Bristol. The new Avonmouth site is 43,000 sq ft, over double the size of its previous depot.
After 21 years in Portbury, the parcel delivery company decided to move to grow capacity in the South West, ‘in light of projected parcel volumes for 2016, especially during the peak season”.
The new site allows loading on three elevations and ‘efficient lean working practices.’ According to the company, Hermes’ 50-strong team of employees will be able to process 9.5 million parcels every year.
As well as this, Hermes has relocated its depot in Nursling, near Southampton to Hedge End, which is around nine miles away. Its new location houses a specification facility that was built in 2011, and incorporates a mix of dock levelers and drive-in doors – it will employ 60 people and annual volumes are predicted to surpass 10.8million.
“With online shopping volumes continuing to rise, carriers have a responsibility to their retail clients to continuously invest in their networks,” said Martijn de Lange, chief operating officer at Hermes. “By moving to new premises in Avonmouth and Southampton we have significantly strengthened our infrastructure which will enable us to further improve the services and solutions we provide to our customers not just in the South and South West of England, but across the whole of the UK.”
Hermes has also started work constructing a 270,000 sq ft, £31million automated parcel distribution ‘superhub’ near Rugby. According to the company, this new site will boost the capacity to process up to 1.1 million parcels every day.
Work started in January and the official opening is expected in August of next year.
