The delivery management company has commissioned a new cross-belt loop sorter in time for peak season and to meet increasing demand from its e-fulfilment customers to process their packets and parcels in increasingly shorter timescales.
The 100m-long bespoke machine was designed and installed by the Beumer Group and will enable automatic, efficient and safe handling of 20,000 small to medium parcels and packets per hour at high speed through 176 chutes.
The equipment was installed over a three-month period this summer at Whistl’s Super Depot in Bolton, which was opened last year.
“We continue to invest in our infrastructure to provide customers with high-quality and cost-efficient services,” said Whistl chief executive Nick Wells.
“The new parcel sorter gives us the scalability to meet this demand for increased efficiency and to handle the increasing volume customers want us to process without compromising on our high levels of quality and customer service.”
Meanwhile, James Hayes started in the new role of director of business development at the start of November and will be tasked with helping Parcelhub to fulfil its potential.
He has joined the business from Parcel Station, a parcel delivery management company he co-founded in 2010, where he built up a deep familiarity and knowledge within the e-commerce industry.
Hayes, who began his career at TNT UK, where he spent eight years in various sales positions, will report to Parcelhub managing director Mark Rosenberg.
“It’s a great time to join Parcelhub now that it is part of Whistl, they are on an ambitious growth and development curve both in the UK and internationally and I’m excited to be able to help this succeed,” said Hayes.
Parcelhub provides a multi-carrier shipping and e-commerce customer service offering for SME e-tailers who cannot access large scale discounts available to large volume mailers.
Whistl’s Parcelhub deal followed its purchase of Prism DM last July to become the second acquisition by the business since it underwent a management buyout in 2015 from PostNL, which retains a 17.5% shareholding.
Marlow-headquartered Whistl reported a turnover of just under £603m for 2017, up 1.9% on the previous year. The company’s Doordrop Media division recently launched Leafletdrop, a new self-service digital platform aimed at SMEs.
