By Barney Cox
Kodak Polychrome Graphics is to centralise its UK distribution at its Watford site.


The reorganisation, which includes an investment in the warehouse and IT systems at Watford, will mean the closure of its Leeds distribution centre.
The move will affect 14 staff and five drivers at
the Leeds site. KPG is in talks with these staff over positions at other Leeds sites.
Every person will be able to apply for a position at other Leeds facilities, said KPG UK managing director Jack Wiethoff.


The firms other sites in Leeds, including the plate manufacturing line, will be unaffected by the changes.
This has nothing to do with the factory, said Wiethoff. Its doing very well, we depend on it in the UK and for the majority of the production of our Electra CTP plates.


KPG expects to have finished expanding the space at Watford and installing an inventory management system similar to the one it uses throughout Europe by the end of September.
Well have better service at lower cost, its a win-win situation, he said. We dont need two warehouses in the UK we can provide a better service with one facility.
The firm hopes to increase the number of on-time full deliveries with the new facility and system.


The Leeds distribution centre is a former Horsell site. KPG said the reason it waited until now to close the site was to make sure that it had the systems in place to maintain high levels of customer service.

Story by Barney Cox