Parcelforce Worldwide, the international courier arm of Royal Mail, has unveiled its new South East Processing Centre (SEPC) in Hertfordshire, UK.
The new center is located on Hatfield Business Park and will create more than 60 new job opportunities in the local area, ranging from warehouse operatives to drivers.
The new processing center will help to reduce Parcelforce Worldwide’s carbon footprint for parcels that can be processed locally within the southeast rather than having to be transported to a central processing facility.
The 60,000ft² unit based in Hatfield contains a new custom-built automated handling system capable of processing more than 50,000 parcels each day.
Parcelforce Worldwide has worked with Caljan and Royal Mail Engineering to design and install a new automated handling system, based on tried and tested depot models.
Following the opening ceremony, guest of honor Grant Shapps MP, said, “It’s a great privilege to have been asked to open this new processing center. As soon as you enter the building, you can’t help but be impressed by the fast-operating pace and high levels of automation.
“Combined with the key Hatfield location, I have no doubt that the new facility will help Parcelforce to deliver packages across the region more efficiently, particularly during peak periods.
“Importantly though, the high levels of automation have not come at the expense of local jobs. The new site will in fact create over 60 local jobs from warehouse operatives to drivers. I do therefore believe that Parcelforce should be commended for this fantastic new development.”
A Parcelforce spokesperson said, “The new South East Processing Centre is central to Parcelforce Worldwide’s continued investment in innovation, technology and the growth of our business.
“We are pushing the boundaries of automation with the technology we have installed, supporting the growing demands and the increasing requirements of our customers.
“It will enable us to handle even more parcels, allowing us to drive up our customer experience and continue to maintain our consistently high end-to-end quality nationwide, all the year round including Christmas.”