Equipment and tools are stored at Speedy Hire39s massive new 162000squarefoot National Distribution Centre

Speedy Hire Opens National Distribution Centre

March 12, 2015
Speedy Hire, the U.K.’s leading tool and equipment rental company opened a flagship National Distribution Centre in Tamworth, U.K.

Speedy Hire, the U.K.’s leading tool and equipment rental company opened a flagship National Distribution Centre in Tamworth, U.K. The 162,000-square-foot facility will serve as a central hub for optimizing the company’s product holding and distribution capabilities for its portfolio of 4,000 product lines. The NDC will also host the company’s new National Induction and Training Centre.

The facility has 126 employees based there including skilled engineers, workshop operatives and people in supporting roles in transport, facilities and administration. The center will enable Speedy to reduce operating costs while investing in its people through enhanced on-the-job and role-specific training, generating enhanced productivity. The facility will provide large-scale distribution storage with transport management systems providing the first stage of national trucking of products to multi-service centers, superstores and express stores.

“Our new NDC at Tamworth is at the heart of the program to optimize our network, which has been designed to improve our product availability and ultimately deliver service excellence to our customers,” said Mark Rogerson, Speedy Hire CEO. “Our aim is to delivery products to our customers faster, safer and more efficiently, and the NDC forks a key part of this strategy. Crucially, the site has been designed around lean workflow processes to minimize waste and ensure our daily operations are streamlined and sustainable. I am particularly proud of the Speedy team in that this facility has been expedited from concept design to initial operating capability in just eight months.”

The training center features classroom and practical training areas that mirror the environment in which new employees will work. More than 100 courses are available ranging from standard inductions and technical product training to leadership and management training. The company expects to train as many as 1,000 people at the facility by the end of the year.

“As well as operational benefits, the new facility provides a fantastic working environment for our people, something that is key to my agenda of making Speedy an employer of choice within our industry,” added Rogerson. “Each and every one of our employees will have access to enhanced career development opportunities and training. Investing in our people at all levels is the key to our future success. Furthermore, Speedy’s customers will have access to a whole host of safety, environmental and industry-specific courses.”

More than 40 specialist engineers will be on site, Speedy said, to undertake asset servicing and refurbishment.

Speedy Hire, based in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, U.K., plans to have eight multi-service centres, 38 superstores, and more than 150 express stores.