DHL breaks ground on portcentric DC

The new facility will be fully operational in spring 2023, with Mars UK committed to occupying 60% of the site. When complete, the new facility will bring huge opportunities to the market, with a 42m high bay warehouse accredited as ‘outstanding’ by the leading construction sustainability standard BREEAM, an internal volume equivalent to 645 Olympic swimming pools, and market-leading levels of automation which will generate cost and time savings.

Jim Hartshorne, MD, Retail & Consumer UK&I, DHL Supply Chain said: “It’s a really exciting day to see the official commencement of a landmark project such as this. We’re incredibly proud to be able to offer our customers operations that are not only world class in efficiency, but also exemplars of sustainable warehousing.”

Tim Walker, supply chain director, Mars UK added: “This is an exciting milestone for our business as we look to realise our ambition of creating a truly world class logistics operation that is sustainable, smart and agile. What is good for our business is also good for the planet and this project is a meaningful step in our sustainability journey as we look to create the world we want tomorrow – which we know starts with how we do business today.”

The new site is one of two new warehouses under construction, the other located in the East Midlands. Representing an investment of £350m, the two sites will reduce Mars’ outbound logistics carbon footprint in the UK by 7.7%. The buildings themselves will be partially solar-powered and rated in the top 1% of non-domestic buildings in the UK environmentally.