ArrowXL's new Worcester hub rises from the ashes

Delivery firm ArrowXL is set to move into a brand new facility in Worcester next month, more than two years after its original hub was burnt to the ground.

The fire took hold in April 2017 at the firm's hub on the Blackpole Trading Estate in Worcester.

It saw the two-person home delivery specialist, which is a sister company of Yodel, lose 45% of its capacity.

Following the fire, ArrowXL moved its Worcester operation to a group facility in Chepstow, transporting between 150 and 200 staff daily from Worcester to Chepstow, until October 2017, when it took a two-year lease on a warehouse in Droitwich.

Now the company is preparing to vacate the Droitwich facility and move back to the Blackpole Trading Estate next month into its new 258,000sq ft Worcester hub.

Speaking to motortransport.co.uk, chief executive Charlie Shiels said: “Six weeks from now we will be moving into our brand new facility which we aim to make into the best two-person facility in the whole of the UK.”

The new facility, which includes 24 loading docks and parking for 72 trucks, will house 250 staff including 150 delivery staff.

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The new hub will also include the company’s second training academy which will operate on the same lines as the firm's original training academy at its Wigan hub.

The Wigan academy recently won the coveted Training Award at the Motor Transport Awards 2019, after the firm impressed judges with its innovative approach to training in the aftermath of the fire which had destroyed many of its training records.

Shiels praised ArrowXL’s staff who he said remained loyal to the firm despite the disruption of having to be bussed 60 miles to Chepstow every day.

“Our staff were absolutely amazing, as were our clients and customers who remained very loyal to us," he said.

He added: "In total, we fulfill 55,000 deliveries across the UK each week and around 25% of those will be fulfilled from our new base in Worcester. It is a strategically important location for us, as we serve consumers across the Midlands. We have always been wholeheartedly committed to remaining in Worcester since the day after the fire," he said.

"The company has been a major employer across the city for 30 years, and we have colleagues who have worked for us since day one. When you consider the loyalty of our local team and the key skills they possess, it really was a no brainer."