The move is in response to Samsung Climate Solution’s storage requirements which have increased by 150% in the last three years following a growth surge driven by the UK heat pump market, which expanded by 26% between 2022 and 2023.

The market is expected to expand further this year, as people look for lower carbon ways to heat their homes and government grants for heat pumps are increased.

The new warehouse provides a single operating location for Samsung Climate Solutions, following the consolidation of two locations into one, giving a consolidated storage solution for air conditioning units and heat pumps.

Read more

• XPO Logistics rolls out last mile delivery service for Samsung Climate Solutions
• XPO trials exoskeleton suits for warehouse workers to boost productivity
• XPO and Nestlé unveil ‘digital warehouse of the future’

It now has four-times the inbound-outbound capacity of the company’s previous locations, with 95% of stock received directly from the factories and 5% as a top-up from the European Union.

Steve Fleming, head of climate solutions UK & Ireland at Samsung Climate Solutions, said: “We are thrilled with the Leicester warehouse solution in partnership with XPO Logistics.

"It allows us to continue to grow our business in both the air conditioning and heat pump market across the UK. Our team has grown from 19 when I joined in 2019 to 67 by the end of this year. We want to provide the best end-to-end customer service possible to match our ambitious growth plan.”

Dan Myers, XPO Logistics, Uk and Ireland managing director, added: "Samsung is an industry leader in the field of climate solutions, their passion and drive to innovate are our shared values and we look forward to working together in partnership to support their business’ continued development through the energy transformation the country has embarked upon.”

The post XPO extends partnership with Samsung Climate Solutions appeared first on Motor Transport.

In the company’s annual results to 31 March 2023, Circle Express revealed that turnover had risen by 21.2% to £27.2m in the period (2022: £24.3m), whilst losses before tax had fallen by 81% to £763,000, down from a loss of £4m in the previous year.

Circle Express has its headquarters in West Drayton. It offers UK airfreight forwarding services, employs around 200 staff and operates around 300 vehicles from eight depots located near UK airports.

Earlier this month the company was sold by TVS Supply Chain Solutions subsidiary Rico Logistics to Indian conglomeration Winever Industrial Enterprises (UK) for £2.1m

In the review of its financial results the company attributed the rise in revenue largely to increased volumes in air freight, high higher fleet utilisation and new business from existing customers and from new market sectors.

Despite the improved performance the company continued to face challenges during the year. The review noted that wage and fuel inflation had resulted in increased service costs, adding that the benefit from the price increases won’t be fully felt until 2024, due to contractual obligations with customers.

In the meantime the company said, it is mitigating the impact on cost base through driving operational efficiencies, increasing its investment in service delivery, using excess fleet capacity by cross selling and on boarding some local delivery contracts. Changes to its Polar Park lease terms will also allow the company to sublease, making it easier to sell vacant space at the facility, it added.

Looking to the future, the business review said Circle Express will continue to focus on further diversification of the market sector, winning new business and increasing demand for the company's core services.

It concluded: “The directors are of the opinion that the company remains a key element of its parent group's portfolio, and will recover to profitability in the near term."

The post Circle Express losses shrink by over 80% as diversification fuels rising demand appeared first on Motor Transport.

Its latest annual results for the year to 31 May 2023 show a 17.1% fall in turnover to £45.8m (2022: £55.3m) while pre-tax profit came in at £4.5m, down from £5m in the previous period.

Southampton-based Meachers Global Logistics specialises in national and international freight and transport logistics services, including freight forwarding, supply chain management, UK warehousing, distribution, training, logistics transport and contract management. It has operating licences for 154 trucks and 204 trailers and employs around 200 staff.

Despite the decline in turnover and profit the family firm remained positive. In its review of the business the group said: “Overall the directors consider the group has performed well over the last 12 months.

"However, as reported last year, in the prior year results we had undertaken a considerable activity that was associated entirely with the pandemic and as expected there was minimal activity on this account in the current financial year. Excluding this contract from the prior year, turnover from the remaining activity increased by £4m.”

The group revealed that reinvestments in the business has seen the group's total net worth rising by 12.6% from £12.1m to £13.7m. Over £1.9m was invested in new equipment in the year with Meachers committed to spending a further £2.1m in the current financial year on new vehicles.

Read more

• Meachers joins new Solent net-zero scheme
• Meachers to strengthen fleet after delivering better than expected profits
• Industry struggling to recruit warehouse workers after post-pandemic “mass exodus”

The review added that the group is confident about the future and currently looking at growing the company both organically and through acquisition “if suitable opportunities arise.”

However, Meachers also sounded a note of caution, pointing to the current economic climate, and the UK’s consistently low growth and productivity projections, which it said poses challenges to the group and could impact on future profitability.

Another concern, according to the business review, is upward price pressure on operating costs in a number of areas of the group’s business.

It stated: “We are continuing to see the rising costs of commercial rents locally and we'll begin to see the significant impact on the warehouse division in particular, of the full revaluation of business rates that was implemented from April 2023.

“Energy costs remain high and the capital cost of replacement equipment which has soared in the last 12 months looks set to continue.”

It said the compoany was still facing problems with driver shortages, which had been alleviated in the short term by raising drivers' wages and by the impact of the economic slowdown, adding that it remained to be seen how successful its training and recruitment schemes, as well as government policies designed to tackle the shortages, will be this year.

The company declined to comment further on its annual results.

The post Meachers Global hit by post-pandemic fall in activity appeared first on Motor Transport.

Using specialist vehicles, Wincanton will transport goods from Jet2.com’s new multi-million pound 150,000 square foot retail operations centre in Cheshire to storage facilities at UK airports, which the company said is the first facility of its kind in the UK aviation industry.

Wincanton will also use control tower technology to drive Jet2.com’s network strategy, which the company said will deliver accurate, real-time visibility on the location of stock, proof of delivery, and optimise resources.

Read more

• Wincanton extends beauty e-fulfilment contract with retailer Sephora
• Wincanton on course to deliver £50.3m in profit despite fall in revenues, trading update reveals
• Jobs at risk as Wincanton loses Suntory distribution contract to DHL

Steve Heapy,chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: “Industry-leading customer service is a critical driver of our continued success, so we are absolutely delighted to be applying that to our in-flight retail operation.

"The opening of this multi-million pound retail operations centre is a first for UK aviation and we know that this pioneering step will provide the very best service for our customers.”

Carl Hanson, Wincanton managing director of group transport added: "We are delighted that Jet2 have chosen us to be their strategic partner in this exciting new venture and we look forward to playing our part in delighting Jet2 customers. Being part of Jet2’s growth journey is a testament to our dedication, expertise, and unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation.”

The post Wincanton lands Jet2 transport partnership deal appeared first on Motor Transport.

The UK’s second largest port operator began construction of the 20,000 square foot extended warehouse at its North Three Canada Dock earlier this year

The group’s investment comes as the Port of Liverpool enjoyed one of its busiest months for steel volumes in September, with more than 75,000 tonnes handled by staff across the port and Birkenhead Docks.

It is the port’s busiest month for steel in more than two years, when 93,000 tonnes were handled at the site in July 2021.

An initial 8,000 square foot of the newly created warehouse space is already in use, with a second phase of construction work to build an extra 12,000 square foot of the terminal ongoing and will be completed in December. 

Read more

• Peel Ports sinks £28m into major new Port of Liverpool warehouse
• Peel Ports invests £10m in new Merseyside hub
• Peel Ports in new row with Unite after claiming less than 25% of workforce voted for strikes

Phil Hall, Peel Ports Group Mersey Ports director, said: “We’re really pleased to have seen such an increase in demand for steel handling at our port in recent months.

“This positive news led to us choosing to increase the size of our facility, which offers customers the chance to expand their capacity, as well as improving our handling facilities at the port.

“Given the benefits of the Port of Liverpool’s central location, and its proximity to UK manufacturing sites, we believe this will be a very important and worthwhile investment.”

The site now has 280,000 square foot of internal storage, as well as 100,000 square foot of external footage. It also has a total throughput capacity of in excess of 600,000 tonnes annually.

The facility was once the UK’s first fully-automated steel terminal following a £9m upgrade in 2016. 

Peel Ports said that real time stock availability, precision coil selection and a vehicle booking system has minimised back office processing and paperwork, handling, as well as haulier turn-around time since its completion.

The post Peel Ports extends steel terminal as demand grows appeared first on Motor Transport.

Air Cargo Transport, which offers road transport services for the air cargo sector, will operate from the company's 67,000 sq ft Westway Park facility at Glasgow Airport.

The launch also sees John Cunningham appointed as head of air cargo operations and Maureen Cunningham take on the role of head of security.

They will be supported by a dedicated team of Cargo Approved professionals, which the company said have many years of direct experience in the sector. The new venture has created 10 new jobs in total.

Managing director, John McKail (pictured), said: "This is a very exciting strategic development for our business, something we have been planning for 18 months. The introduction of this new transport solution for the air cargo sector will mean we can collect and deliver freight to or from key UK airports.

Read more

• Rapid growth sees Bullet Express boost fleet with 35 trucks and trailers from Asset Alliance
• Bullet Express to launch Airport Logistics and Training Centre
• Bullet Express invites UKWA chief to open new facility at Westway Park in Renfrew

"We have invested in a brand new fleet of Q7 roller bed trailers and will linehaul cargo between Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Prestwick, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. We will operate under CAA approved Regulated Agent Status, with the mandate to manage known Secure Prior to X-ray (SPX) cargo."

Bullet Express has also launched a beers, wines and spirits service to meet rising customer demand. The company recently obtained a HMRC excise movement guarantee for the international and national shipping of beers, wines and spirits and has dedicated 30,000 sq ft of warehousing for customs bonded storage at Baillieston. Buket Express said this week that the bond license is in its final stages.

Commercial director, Martin Craghill commented: "Demand from our customer base has resulted in the creation of these addition service offerings. Bullet has a long-standing relationship with a number of household brands within these sectors.

"We have historically stored and shipped bottles, cans, or packaging on their behalf. Having license to expand storage and ship their liquids is a natural evolution for our business."

Bulk liquid transportation is a key part of this development, which the company said is an area of particular expertise that Craghill will develop with his team, aided by his long-standing experience in this area, having previously been at the commercial helm of Braid Logistics.

Bullet Express, which employs around 155 staff and operates a fleet of around 144 vehicles, operates from four operating facilities in Scotland at Bothwell, Baillieston, London Road, Glasgow and Westway Park at Glasgow Airport.

The post Bullet Express launches Air Cargo Transport appeared first on Motor Transport.

The first quarter of this year saw Panattoni acquire a West London redevelopment site near Heathrow Airport, where an 80,000 sq ft unit, dubbed Panattoni Poyle, will be delivered for Q3 2024.

The start of the third quarter saw the acquisition of a 800,000 sq ft site in Milton Keynes, where the business will construct two speculative units of 350,000 sq ft and 450,000 sq ft.

The end of the third quarter delivered the acquisition of a two unit park totalling 626,468 sq ft in Sittingbourne (pictured), strategically located to the south east of London, four miles from junction five of the M2.

The 26-acre site, acquired from Abrdn, will be developed as a state-of-the-art, net zero carbon development. This location offers access to local and national distribution routes facilitated by the M2, M20, and M25 motorways.

The development will also provide seamless connectivity to markets such as London, the south east, and Europe via London Thamesport, Dover and the Port of Tilbury.

The site has planning consent for two distinct units, spanning 439,228 sq ft and 205,320 sq ft, which will be speculatively developed.

Read more

• Panattoni wins planning consent for major logistics development in Crawley
• Glencar to construct new industrial development in Nottingham
• Panattoni plans major Heathrow logistics hub

Construction is due to commence at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, with a targeted completion date in the fourth quarter of 2024.

The developer said that a key advantage and differentiator of Panattoni Park Sittingbourne is its enhanced ESG features. The site has 5MVa of power available with a further capacity of additional 1.35MVa from the solar PV provided as part of the base specification by Panattoni. Furthermore, Panattoni will engineer the construction to achieve a BREEAM sustainability rating of ‘Excellent’ and an EPC rating of ‘A’.

Panattoni also hailed the success of its 1.6 million sq ft Panattoni Park Aylesford where it said the level of demand in the region has resulted in the scheme being 100% pre-let to major national and international occupiers in less than 24 months from acquisition

Tony Watkins, Panattoni head of development for the South East and London, said: “This third acquisition in the south in 2023 confirms our success in delivering on a strategy to acquire land that provides value to investors and customers in the current commercial environment.

"We will continue to selectively purchase key developments that offer value-add opportunities within core markets in London and the South East, where we can drive rental growth. We hope to be announcing more acquisitions this quarter.”

The post Panattoni passes £350m mark in southern acquisitions in 2023 appeared first on Motor Transport.

The 350,000 sq ft centre, which is XPO’s headquarters and its national distribution hub for the UK and Ireland, has been awarded this status by Carbon Neutral Britain after reducing its site emissions before offsetting the final 1,124 tons of CO2e.  

Emissions from the Crick site were reduced in several ways, including switching to Tier 1 energy supply, including wind, solar, and hydro and replacing all lighting with LEDs throughout offices and the warehouse, which happened more than a year earlier than expected.

Other measures included reducing water demand by introducing measures to reduce consumption, achieving zero waste to landfill, boosting overall recycling, and internal re-use of scrap packaging.

Read more

• XPO trials exoskeleton suits for warehouse workers to boost productivity
• XPO partners with green energy provider Ares Power
• Port One Logistics Park to be fully carbon neutral

XPO Logistics is also planning to expand use of its own renewable energy resources to boost energy generating capacity and battery storage solutions to accelerate its journey to carbon neutrality.

Dan Myers (pictured), XPO Logistics managing director, UK and Ireland, said: “Achieving carbon neutrality at our Crick facility is an important step in our sustainability journey.

“Reaching our target well ahead of plan is a testament to our commitment to deliver on our planet's positive promises and to the hard work of all our colleagues at Crick.

“Still, we are not resting on our laurels. We know there is more to do, and we need to do it faster, working with our outstanding team. I am confident we will achieve carbon neutrality in additional company sites this year.”

The post XPO headquarters gains carbon neutral status 12 months ahead of deadline appeared first on Motor Transport.

The association's demands are part of its response to the government's call for evidence on freight, logistics and the planning system, which closes today (9 October).

It is also calling for stronger direction from government to ensure national transport priorities are identified and embedded throughout the planning system.

Jonathan Walker, Logistics UK head of cities and infrastructure policy, said: "Planning plays a key role in ensuring the necessary infrastructure is in place to not only keep freight moving, but also expand the sector.

Read more

• DfT launches freight and logistics consultation amid supply chain planning shake-up
• Industry call to overhaul truckstop planning laws
• Government must deliver on net zero plans, says Logistics UK

"Recent research by Oxford Economics identified that more targeted government investment and a closer working partnership with the logistics sector to help lift the barriers that currently inhibit industry, could boost annual UK GDP by up to £7.9bn per year by 2030. Any planning reform must address these barriers and give the industry a platform on which to grow.” 

Logistics UK argues that a joined-up approach in which local authorities engage with industry is also vital to the sector’s success.

Walker continued: “The logistics industry underpins every sector of the UK economy, and it is crucial the importance of our industry is recognised and reflected in planning reforms, not just at a national level, but also at a local level to support communities.

"Within our response, we have highlighted the need for local authorities to engage with industry on local plans from the outset, and throughout their development, to ensure the swift and sustainable delivery of crucial warehousing and logistics projects. 

“The planning system also plays an important role in the lead up to net zero by 2050. The logistics sector recognises the need to decarbonise, and is working hard to do so, but must be enabled to achieve this through a more supportive planning environment that supports investment and enables the delivery of the right energy and transport infrastructure for a net zero future.” 

The post Logistics UK calls for “fundamental” reform of planning system appeared first on Motor Transport.

The audit, which took place in August, saw the Lancashire-based warehouses, Burnley Bridge and Frontier Park, receive the highest BRCGS grade available, underlining Fagan & Whalley's commitment to uphold rigorous standards for the safe storage and distribution of food-related items.

The BRCGS, formerly known as the British Retail Consortium, is a globally recognised body that sets international benchmarks for food safety. Their standards are followed by over 26,000 suppliers across 130 countries, serving as a critical measure for regulatory compliance and consumer protection.

Read more

• Fagan & Whalley donates truck to Transaid to pioneer safer roads in Zambia
• Fagan & Whalley showcases driver training scheme to local MP ahead of RHA National Lorry Week
• Keeping it in the family pays dividends for Fagan & Whalley

John Marsden, HSEQ manager, said: "Retaining this AA-grade accreditation for another year is not just an honour but a validation of our unwavering commitment to safety and compliance. It not only reassures our existing clients but also serves as a compelling selling point for potential new partnerships."

He added, "This continued success is a collective achievement, only made possible by the relentless dedication and hard work of our entire team. We couldn't be more proud."

Fagan & Whalley provide specialist AA-grade BRCGS-certified and Soil Association-approved warehousing services for clients across all industries, including those within the food industry.

The post Fagan & Whalley awarded AA-grade BRCGS rating for second year appeared first on Motor Transport.