Hermes boosts capacity at Rugby hub by 40pc

Hermes has completed the construction of a third sortation tier at its fully automated Midlands Super Hub in Rugby. The £16m project increases its existing output by 40% with the capability to process 1.35 million parcels each day.

The installation of the high specification sortation tier, manufactured by Beumer, took place over the past 12 months and was overseen by the in-house engineering team at Hermes – who ensured that the hub has remained fully operational.

The new tier can sort 22,973 items per hour, which increases the hub’s hourly total to 68,919 items per hour. It measures over 1.1kms in length, incorporates 480 tonnes of steelwork, features 1,942 trays, and is powered by 41kms of electrical wiring. Scales measure the dimension and check the weight of every parcel whilst also checking for any damages.

Hermes UK chief executive Martijn de Lange said: “For the last few years we have witnessed double-digit growth due to our commitment to invest in our world-class network and infrastructure, our innovative fleet and our industry-leading portfolio of services solutions. In addition, our in-house engineering team is constantly optimising our equipment to ensure it is best in class and we will soon be introducing further automation to support our returns process in the coming months.”

“Last year, we enjoyed our most effective and busiest peak season to date, whilst, at the same time, achieving record service levels and I’m absolutely confident the third sortation tier in Rugby will put us in the strongest possible position to further support the retail industry over the coming years.”

The 270,000 sq ft site, located at the Rugby Gateway, opened in August 2017 at the cost of £31 million.