Geodis Calberson is planning to open new depots in the UK under a five-year expansion plan afterthe successful launch of a new centre near Southampton in southern England.
The move is part of the company’s plan to invest in regional locations in order to be close tocustomers while offering domestic, European and worldwide distribution services.
In Hedge End, where the new facility opened in mid-2012, Geodis Calberson operates out of a6,000 sq ft warehouse centre with eight staff and a local collection and delivery fleet which is tobe further expanded in the future. Despite challenging economic conditions, the company has gained15 new accounts since its move into Southampton, which Geodis Calberson sees as an indication thatits service offering matches demand.
Heather Taylor, Network Development Director at Geodis UK, said that although the local presenceis still in its infancy, there is a potential for a further 50% growth on the south coast. Thecompany has already appointed a new sales employee for its Southampton centre to cope with thisgrowth, expected mainly from marine related industries.
She said: “There are not many companies in this sector in the current economic climate that areinvesting and expanding but Geodis Calberson is. In the current marketplace we can’t stand still.Geodis is a large, global group and the UK is a key market.”
Taylor added: “Our move into Southampton means customers locally are receiving a morepersonalised service with more robust connectivity. If we have customers with differentrequirements for goods destined for the UK and Europe we can send one unit to pick all that up andget the goods into our relevant networks to meet service schedules for onward delivery.”
Geodis Calberson offers global reach through its parent company Geodis with some 26,000employees in 120 countries across all five continents. Its Eurotop and Eurofirst services, launchedin 2010, offer guaranteed 48-hour delivery with online tracking to key European destinations inFrance, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, Austria and the Benelux countries.
In the UK, Geodis Calberson has 340 employees and 65 independent licensees in the FortecDistribution Network specialised in pallet deliveries.
