Site Service Pays Dividends for TNT

September 16 2004

Through Locate in Birmingham's Property Finding Service, TNT were assisted with their site decision-making process. They have now located their biggest depot in the UK at Network Park, in Birmingham.

Depot General Manager Grant Cochrane, has been involved in the creation of two of TNT's depots at Nuneaton and now Birmingham.

The Birmingham depot represents the largest ever investment in a single site by TNT Express Services in the UK and is their largest Depot in the country.

TNT used Locate in Birmingham's site-finding service beginning the site appraisal process some three years ago. This will culminate in the official opening of the new facility at Network Park on 29th September.

Grant Cochrane says, "we found the new site with the assistance of Locate in Birmingham and it is a fantastic facility. With much greater space and easier access to the road network, this new depot will launch us into a prosperous and profitable new millennium."

Express delivery giant TNT is opening the doors - all 68 of them - on a new£8.2 million purpose built facility in Birmingham later this month - the biggest in the company's nationwide network of more than 50 depots.

Handling tens of thousands of parcels and packages each week, the state-of-the-art depot at Network Park, Saltley, provides a vital strategic link for the delivery and collection of business-to-business consignments for industry and commerce in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

England goalkeeping legend Peter Shilton - the country's most capped footballer with 125 international appearances - will provide a safe pair of hands when he performs the official opening of the flagship depot on Wednesday 29th September.

Employing 300 people, the depot represents the largest ever investment in a single site by TNT Express Services in the UK. The new 68-door loading bay means more than five-dozen vehicles can be either delivering or collecting packages at the same time. This contrasts with the 12-door capacity of the company's former premises in the Digbeth area of the city.

Depot General Manager, Grant Cochrane said: 'We are extremely proud of the new depot which has given us the additional space and capacity to enable us to drive the business forward. We now have a 99,000 square foot site which boasts the very latest in leading edge technology.

'This includes hi-tech hub-style sortation systems and the use of sophisticated electronic tracking software. This ensures speed and reliability of service and gives customers the added assurance that they know where their goods are 24/7.'

The Birmingham complex also houses a special Strategic Storage and Distribution Centre that holds spare parts for a wide range of TNT customers including leading electrical, engineering, computer and telecommunications companies. The facility enables TNT to deliver parts from the stock at Saltley to field engineers and technicians in the fastest and most reliable fashion via its TNT Sameday service.

With such a sizeable investment it's little wonder that an advanced £200,000 package of security measures help safeguard the new facility and all of the consignments entrusted to TNT.

The previous TNT site at Curzon Street in Digbeth is being demolished as part of the regeneration of Birmingham city centre. Grant added: 'We were always going to have to move out of Digbeth to meet the growing volumes of business being handled through Birmingham. The fact that the old depot was earmarked to make way for the new look city centre development simply added momentum to the relocation.'

Locate in Birmingham adds: The old depot at Curzon Street, opposite Millennium Point, is adjacent to Curzon Street Station which is to be the new home to the Royal College of Organists. This important site is vital to the regeneration of the whole Eastside area.

Nigel Barton, Director of Operations for TNT Express Services, said: 'Birmingham is typical of the first class facilities we can offer our customers as we strive to meet and exceed their expectations. We can collect parcels and packages from customers late in the working day and get them delivered earlier than ever before in the UK & Europe.'

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