UK's APC Overnight gains green light for £14m parcel hub
Local planning officials have given the green light to parcel and express delivery company APC Overnight to build a new head office and hub site in the English Midlands region. The new site at Kingswood Lakeside are of Cannock, Staffordshire, will include a purpose-built £14m hub facility spreading across 128,000 square feet.
It will double the capacity of APC Overnight’s current hub near Wolverhampton, and is set to be fitted out with state-of-the-art systems including an Interroll cross-belt sortation system.
APC Overnight said it was also planning to expand its fleet with more Don-bur EcoStream double-decker trailers. The company’s current hub operation sees around 120 vehicles arriving each night.
Ivor Skinner, the APC Overnight MD, said the new hub would be essential to the national operations of the company and its future development.
He said: “With the high demand for our next-day deliveries, we have outgrown our existing hub in Essington. The new site will provide us with a well-designed, state-of-the-art and very efficient national base.”
Jobs
APC Overnight, which has around 125 depots across the UK, is expected to complete its new hub and headquarters by October 2012.
Cannock Chase Council, which has been working with APC on the plans for the new site for the past 18 months, welcomed the potential 300 new jobs the project should create.
Councillor Gordon Alcott, the authority’s lead member for economic development and planning, said of the planning approval: “It is undoubtedly a boost for the area, with new jobs coming in, and we’re hoping it will be a springboard for APC as well.”
Ivor Skinner
APC Overnight’s Ivor Skinner is retiring after three years as MD
Skinner, who has been managing director at APC Overnight for three years, is now to retire from the position, the company said yesterday.
Under his leadership, the company has grown into a £58m-a-year company, achieving pre-tax profits of around £3.4m while delivering 1.4m parcels a month nationwide.
The company said in a statement that Skinner had taken over the role of MD at a “critical time” for the economy with a global recession looming that would go on to challenge all businesses.
“Ivor Skinner’s strong leadership has helped APC weather the storm of an ongoing deep recession and guided the company into record growth and success,” the company said.
“The results speak for themselves. His enthusiasm, drive, people skills and passion for success have all helped APC rise above the challenges presented by the recession and increased the company’s service levels and increased the company’s size and stature in the parcel industry overall.”
APC Overnight said Skinner would continue to be “very much involved” with the company following his retirement, as a member of the Board of Directors.
