IT’S been six months since the start of operations at Dachser’s new logistics centre at Thomas Dachser Way on Brackmills.
During that time, business has continued to grow at a rapid pace, according to Dachser’s UK Managing Director, Nick Lowe.
“Comparing 2014 with 2013,” said Nick Lowe, “we have seen so far an eight per cent year-to-date increase in our European export volumes and a 1 per cent increase in our European import volumes, exceeding our expectations and clearly justifying the significant investment we have made.
IT’S been six months since the start of operations at Dachser’s new logistics centre at Thomas Dachser Way on Brackmills.
During that time, business has continued to grow at a rapid pace, according to Dachser’s UK Managing Director, Nick Lowe.
“Comparing 2014 with 2013,” said Nick Lowe, “we have seen so far an eight per cent year-to-date increase in our European export volumes and a 1 per cent increase in our European import volumes, exceeding our expectations and clearly justifying the significant investment we have made. Several new blue-chip customers have come on board, and our existing customers are certainly experiencing the benefits of the upturn in the UK economy.”
Dachser’s current premises replaced a combination of three separate sites which were also on Brackmills, and the benefits of the additional capacity and the new, bespoke design-and-build layout to optimise productivity and cargo handling efficiency have been clear to see.
John Goodman, General Manager, Midlands & North, and responsible for the Northampton branch, said: “Our old buildings have served us well for many years, but the constraints that we faced relating to yard and warehouse space, as well as the inefficiencies of operating our business across a range of different sites, would in the end have created a huge impediment to our continued growth and success. At Thomas Dachser Way, as well as the overall increase in the size of our operation, we have additional land upon which we can extend our transit terminal by another 2,400 sq metres, incorporating an additional 21 loading doors. This will, in time, enable us to continue to pursue our development strategy for our European business, benefiting as we do from our direct connection to our comprehensive road freight network in Europe with all the advantages that brings for our customers: daily departures, fast door-to-door transit times and competitive pricing.'”
In addition to European services, Dachser also offers full contract logistics and value added services in its 10,500 sq m high-bay warehouse which is a very important part of the new facility. The 20,000-pallet capacity warehouse is quickly filling up, with new clients being won especially within the retail sector. Value-added services offered include labelling, re-packing, sorting, sleeving and the configuration of promotional retail display units.
International services, comprising sea and air freight forwarding, are also offered by Dachser Northampton, working in conjunction with the organisation’s Air & Sea Logistics division, which is steadily increasing its presence around the world. It is especially strong in China where it now has some 15 branch offices, as well as North and South America. This enables the possibility for customers to enjoy a one-stop-shop solution for both European and international business.
“2014 has certainly been a year of big change for Dachser in Northampton,” said Nick Lowe, “and we are very excited about the solid platform we now have to further increase our business and our client base in the future. It’s also very pleasing that our other two branches, in Dartford and Rochdale, have also experienced significant growth this year, especially with regard to European exports. This all provides us with additional impetus to expand our UK branch network still further in due course.”