Australia’s Toll Group has announced plans for a new multi-purpose super depot on Queensland’s Gold Coast to consolidate local operations and speed up deliveries.
Toll Group Managing Director Michael Byrne was joined by John Marsh, Managing Director of developers LOGOS and Partners Group, yesterday to officially break ground on the site at Captain Cook Drive, Arundel.
The 10,250 sqm depot, due to go into operation next year, will bring together three existing sites into one operational hub, making it the first purpose-built integrated facility of its kind for Toll. Custom-built for the logistics group, the new super depot will bring together multiple freight services under one roof that are traditionally separated due to their operational requirements.
The outcome will be a seamless freight offering to customers. From medical supplies, to fashion, food and machinery, it can all be delivered from the Gold Coast to Australia and the world, using best practice supply chain management, Toll explained.
Byrne said the investment underlines economic confidence in the state and a strong belief in the future growth of Toll’s business. “We have a strong vision for Queensland and Toll is making a substantial investment on the Gold Coast with this new state of the art facility.”
The Toll Group chief said that while the new super depot will set the blueprint for how the company will build future integrated operations in Australia, it also takes the best learnings from other facilities which meet the highest safety standards.
“The new depot has been designed to provide the safest working environment for our people and customers,” he said. “We’ve purposely limited the interactions between pedestrians and forklifts, customer collections will now be separated from operations, and operational traffic will flow in one direction, which means no reversing and less risk.”
The site at Arundel on the Gold Coast was chosen to provide the optimal location to minimise distance and time travelled between the depot and customers. With its immediate access to major arterial routes throughout southeast Queensland, Arundel is ideally positioned to enable Toll to service its diverse range of customers from retail to mining to agriculture.
Toll will employ over 120 Gold Coast locals at the new facility. Construction including internal fit-out of conveyor and sortation systems is scheduled for completion by end April 2019. Toll’s three existing sites, at Molendinar, Arundel and Burleigh Heads, will stagger their relocation until end July 2019 to ensure a smooth transition for customers.
