Logistics specialist pioneers northern hub

A partnership between a leading haulage and logistics business and a pallet distribution network has created a new northern hub which will put Lancashire firmly on the map for national palletised distribution.

FDC Holdings, which specialises in palletised distribution, storage and fulfilment for some of the UK’s largest brands, will manage the hub on behalf of The Pallet Network (TPN) from its new site spanning 306,766 sq ft at Walton Summit, near Preston.

As a result, the fast growing haulage and logistics business has already created nine new jobs, including three managerial roles, putting it well on track to achieve its goal of creating at least 20 new jobs this year.

FDC has been a member of the TPN network for 15 years, and the new partnership will allow for greater growth of TPN’s infrastructure and improve its operation.

The hub will initially take around 1,000 pallets a night, which both originate in and are destined for delivery in the north. TPN’s central hub in Sutton Coldfield currently handles 13,000 pallets a night.

Peter Allen, managing director of FDC, said: “TPN is experiencing such strong growth in pallet volumes that its central hub alone is no longer enough. When we purchased our new site earlier this year our aim was to create a thriving local hub, so we approached TPN and suggested it make Walton Summit its northern headquarters.

“This hub will keep freight in the region which is more cost effective for TPN, provides great scope for more inter-regional growth and cuts the carbon footprint. It’s also another way we’re putting Lancashire on the map and we anticipate that it will only increase the demand for haulage and transportation in the region as more and more organisations begin to use the hub.”

FDC, which has its headquarters on a 14-acre site at Moorland Gate Business Park, Chorley, is set to increase its turnover through 2015 to £7.5million. It acquired the site at Walton Summit earlier this year for an undisclosed seven figure sum.

Founded by Peter and his brother Stephen in 1997, the company serves customers in a variety of sectors including health care, motor industry, education, manufacturing, retail, and food and drink. Across its three sites at Chorley, Walton Summit and Leyland, FDC is able to offer more than 552,000 sq ft of storage, self-contained office space, workshops and warehouses in all from its strategic locations near the M6, M65 and M61.