Yusen Logistics has opened a new £200m Sustainable Distribution Centre in Northampton, representing one of the company’s largest investments in its UK logistics operation.
The 120,000sq ft facility is the largest site in Yusen Logistics’ UK portfolio and provides 236,000 pallet positions across the development. The site is positioned to reach around 90% of the UK population within four hours, giving Yusen additional capacity to support customers across the country.
The opening was marked with a traditional Japanese Kagami Biraki ceremony, in which company directors broke open the lid of a sake barrel using wooden mallets. The ceremony traditionally marks a new beginning and is associated with wishes for prosperity and success.
The facility includes 90,000 pallet positions within an automated storage and retrieval system, supported by a major deployment of four-way shuttles and automated guided vehicles (AGVs). Yusen said the four-way shuttle system is the largest deployment of its kind in the UK.
The automation is designed to increase the site’s capacity and operational flexibility while supporting future growth. Around 60,000 pallet spaces are already committed, with further capacity due to become available over the next 18 months.
Yusen said the site is being developed as a growth platform rather than a consolidation exercise, with the investment intended to create additional capacity for existing customers while allowing the business to pursue new customers and sectors.
The company also said the introduction of automation would not result in a reduction in overall employment. Existing staff are moving into new roles including system super-users, technicians and engineering positions, while further recruitment is expected as volumes increase.
The facility has been designed around Yusen’s sustainability objectives, including rainwater harvesting, infrastructure for future electric vehicle charging and a roof engineered to accommodate extensive solar generation.
Yusen UK MD David Evans (pictured second from right) said the investment would provide the capacity and flexibility to develop existing customer relationships while also targeting new customers and sectors.
The site took around three years to build and fit out, with Yusen describing the Northampton operation as a platform for the next stage of its UK growth.
