The investment will see 11 new jobs created at the facility with plans to employ more people in the future.
The new £3.5m distribution centre, which will serve its UK and international markets, replaces three warehouses currently on the site in a move by the company to continuously enhance the service to its customers, grow market share and open up new business opportunities.
WHS Plastics which also has manufacturing operations in Runcorn, UK and Cairo, Egypt, employs some 630 people, with 400 of those based in the West Midlands. The company, which currently has an annual revenue of £60m, recently manufactured 100,000 plastic visors with Jaguar Land Rover in response to the pandemic.
The new national distribution centre has been developed to provide an on-demand logistics solution for customers, which include major motor manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover.
WHS Plastics has put in place the latest warehouse management system in the centre, which manages the stockholding and inbound and outbound movements as well as semi-autonomous forklift trucks. The centre has also, been fitted out with a new half a million pounds racking system, which will provide WHS Plastics with an additional 35,000 sq feet of warehousing capacity to support future growth ambitions.
Paul Nicholson, Group Managing Director at WHS Plastics Limited, said: “We are delighted to open our new national distribution centre here in the West Midlands. The current 15-strong distribution centre team will continue their roles at the new distribution centre, including Gareth Cummins who has been a valued member of the logistics operations for 23 years, and we are also commencing a recruitment drive to support the new operation, which we are thrilled to be doing at this current time. The development complements our hi-tech and automated production processes, thereby forming a key part of our future growth strategy to build upon our existing markets and open up new opportunities for the business going forward.”
“Whilst the pandemic has been a challenging period for the majority of companies across the country, including those here in the West Midlands, we believe that we can come out of this period even stronger. Our significant investment is designed to continue to provide the very best support to our largest market, the automotive sector in the region and nationally, as well as other sectors in providing a first-class distribution service.”
He added: “We have been in the region for nearly 90 years and this investment signals our intention to be here for a long time to come, supporting the automotive sector, which is a major contributor to the regional economy, and other industries. As a result of this investment we are already seeing a growth in our pipeline, in new sectors, from garden to professional catering products.”
