Knowles subsidiary Masters boosts fleet with £1m investment

The £1m cash injection will fund a series of system upgrades as well as five new rigid trucks and ten new fork lifts and comes just over 12 months since the Ely-based business and Palletline member was acquired by Knowles Logistics. 

 As part of Knowles’ long-standing relationship with Volvo, which spans over 25 years, Masters has purchased three 26 tonne Volvo FE 320 Rigid trucks and two 18 tonne Volvo FE 320 Rigid trucks. 

All vehicles will be accompanied by Lawrence David bodies, which feature aerodynamic roofs for improved fuel efficienc,y and will operate on Palletline collections and deliveries in the Cambridgeshire and Huntingdon Area. 

Masters’ new forklifts, which consist of four Toyota electric counter balance, two gas counter balance and four electric Alise Masters narrow aisle articulated forklifts, will operate at the company’s warehouse operations. The trucks were purchased from Truckmasters Handling, who will also be providing ongoing maintenance and service.

The three new system upgrades will help maximise warehouse capacity within the current footprint, plan collections and deliveries for customers whilst using the fleet to its maximum capacity, and streamline its financial operations by reducing time spent conducting manual data entries and providing customers with accurate and timely invoices. 

Mark Stoodley, Masters managing director, said: “In order to build for the future, Masters Logistical is delighted to announce that it has committed £1m in capital investment in order to facilitate growth, improve our infrastructure as well as enabling us to work more closely with Knowles Logistics. 

“Our new suite of system upgrades will essentially underpin every facet of the business by streamlining our warehousing operations, financial operations, and transport solutions.

”As a business, we are committed to reducing emissions and in turn creating a sustainable and economical business that can cater to the needs and requirements of its customers, so we took the strategic view to invest in systems that will provide such solutions, without compromising on growth and customer service. 

“As a part of our ongoing fleet replacement programme, we were also delighted to take delivery of our Volvo FE 320 Rigid trucks and fleet of forklifts, as we continue to upgrading our vehicles in line with our commitment to investing in the best models available to complement our operation and sustainability goals.” 

Stoodley added: ”With ambitions of future growth, we are confident that our £1m investment will set the foundations for a positive new year as we continue to work closely with Knowles Logistics on our journey to solidifying our ever-growing position in the warehousing and distribution marketplace.”