Whistl wins first Northern Ireland Government postal contract

Whistl has been awarded the first Northern Ireland Government postal contract following a competitive process run by the Department of Finance’s Central Procurement Directorate (CPD). The contract, lasting up to five years, covers a number of government and public sector bodies, including those responsible for education, health, finance, colleges and transport.

Whistl will collect, sort and transport mail to Royal Mail for doorstep delivery.

As a result of the contract, Whistl will further be investing in its sortation depot in Hightown Industrial Estate in Newtownabbey, Belfast in terms of operational staff and also drivers who will collect mail from across the whole of Northern Ireland and bring it to the depot for processing.

Whistl announced that it had doubled the size of its depot earlier in the year –  which will ensure it can handle the additional expected 20 million items from this contract, taking its annual volume of mail processed in Northern Ireland to over 60 million.

The contract will involve Whistl working in partnership with CPD and the Strategic Investment Board to deliver new employment opportunities for long term unemployed people and new apprenticeships.

Nick Wells, CEO Whistl, commented: “Whistl is delighted that we can invest in new employment opportunities for some long term unemployed people as well as apprenticeships following the award of this significant contract.

“We are delighted that we won the contract on our ability to provide a cost effective quality service that will benefit the Northern Ireland tax payer through lower postal costs but also to help get people back into the work place.”