Hermes has announced that it plans to build a £60m (US$78m) state-of-the-art automated parcel distribution hub in Barnsley, UK.
The new hub is due for completion in 2022 and once open will, according to Hermes, become the largest of its kind in Europe. It will create approximately 1,300 new jobs in the area.
The 363,000ft2 facility, to be named Colossus, will initially process 1.3 million parcels daily – boosting Hermes’s overall capacity to 3.8 million a day. To future-proof and prepare for expected growth, further tiers will be added to the hub in coming years.
CNG vehicles will be based at the hub and there will be provision for electric cars.
Martijn de Lange, CEO at Hermes, said, “The online shopping boom shows no sign of slowing down and we have just experienced our biggest Christmas period to date, handling in excess of 49.1 million parcels during December 2019 alone – significantly up from 39.5 million in December 2018.
“Our continued investment to strengthen our network and infrastructure across the UK is laying the foundations for future growth, creating more employment opportunities and confirming our position as an industry leader.”