2011: DPD seeks 50 HGV drivers as part of expansion bid
PARCEL CARRIER DPD wants to recruit more than 50 HGV drivers ahead of the oficial opening of a £12m extension to its national sorting hub in Oldbury, West Midlands, later this month (22 September).
The investment means the 132C specialist, part of Geopost UK and this year’s MT Awards Customer Care winner, will be able to increase throughput at the site from 28,000 parcels an hour to 42,000.
Expansion includes lengthening the building by 75m and installing a third sorting line at the facility, which cost £56m to build in 2008. An international parcels area capable of handling 150,000 parcels a night, has been created in the building.
Geopost is looking for 150 workers, split across its Oldbury site and its Interlink Express sorting centre in nearby Smethwick, which handles 13213 work. They will include 90 loaders and more than 50 Class 1 drivers.
The company claims its Predict system, which offers customers a one-hour delivery window, has helped win it £40m-worth of business this year.
Geopost UK operations chief executive Dwain McDonald predicts group turnover will be up 10% this year. He aims to expand DPD’s market share to 18%, which he believes would put it in front of rival Yodel’s estimated 17% share of the 132C market. He believes Geopost can be number one in the UK domestic parcels market by 2015.
2012: Delivery firm DPD to create 1,500 new UK jobs
European parcel delivery company DPD is to create up to 1,500 new full-time UK jobs as it expands to cope with an explosion in online orders.
The firm plans to invest £100m in building a new parcel sorting hub in the Midlands, as well as £20m on refurbishing two existing hubs.
DPD, which was founded in the UK before being bought by France’s La Poste in 2000, says it has seen a sharp rise in online business orders.
The firm plans to invest £175m overall.
A DPD spokesperson said the company was considering five sites around Leicester and Rugby for the new sorting hub and hope to have it built within the next two years.
DPD attributes its strong growth to the rise in popularity of online ordering. It says that since it launched its Predict service in March 2010, which provides customers with a one-hour delivery time slot for their parcel, it has won over £70m in new business.
The company also plans to invest £20m to upgrade its existing depot network and create 10 new depots over the next 15 months.
“This investment will allow us to expand our network capacity further to meet the demands from our customers and maintain our very high service standards,” said DPD chief executive Dwain McDonald.