Panther moves to new cross dock facility to accommodate growth
White-glove specialist Panther Warehousing has increased its capacity with a move to a new cross dock facility in Northampton. The new 165,000 sq ft site, situated at Lodge Farm Industrial Estate is more than three times the size of its former site as part of a £3 million investment programme.
The move has also created up to 30 new jobs on the site as part of its recent expansion bringing the total number of employees to 200. Panther also has an additional 200-300 owner driver delivery partners.
In the past two years Panther has experienced exponential growth during which time it has won new contracts to the value of £11 million per annum and increased turnover levels from £11 million in 2012 to an estimated £20 million this year. Volumes too have increased from 1500 p/n to 3000 p/n.
The move comes only two years after Panther relocated to its former site in Crick – again to accommodate growth – and less than two years after the company expanded into Peterlee in the North East, Taunton in the South West and Leeds in Yorkshire.
Colin McCarthy, the company’s Managing Director, said the continued surge in business meant the latest move was a necessity, allowing Panther to facilitate new contracts in 2014 and 2015.
The new hub comprises 25 docking bays as opposed to six at the Crick site. Mr McCarthy said the new premises will not only allow Panther to enhance its service to existing customers but to also cater for new business.
He said: “The cross-docking facilities mean we can load about 30 vehicles at any one time – in contrast to just six at our former site, allowing a throughput of 75 vehicles per hour. In turn it means we can increase our cut-off times which is excellent news for our customers.”
Mr McCarthy added: “This industry remains immensely competitive and unless you stay ahead of the game it is easy to fall behind.
“We have introduced a range of new services which have helped our customers improve their own offering, and we have more new services in the pipeline.
“But the increase in customer expectations, coupled with the number of new contracts we are taking on, meant we had outgrown our old site. The new site allows us to do our jobs quickly and efficiently but it also allows for greater flexibility. Handling is kept to a minimum and where necessary tailored to the specific types of product we carry.
“The new facility therefore ensures that we are able to both meet the demands of existing customers as well as future customers that come on board.”
