myHermes have opened their new purpose-built parcel distribution depot at Prologis Park in Hemel Hempstead, as they further enhances their network and infrastructure ahead of what is anticipated to be their busiest peak season to date. The new 80,000 square foot depot, which will lead to the creation of 50 new jobs, highlights Hermes’ ongoing dedication to innovation, sustainability and future growth.
Located in Maylands Gateway, Hemel Hempstead, within the town’s new Enviro-tech Enterprise Zone it has easy access to the M1 and M25. The depot is the equivalent in size of 11 football pitches and has the capacity to process more than 130,000 parcels each day, to be distributed across London and the Midlands. This represents the latest major investment in Hermes’ network, following the opening of its £31m Midlands Super Hub in Rugby last year.
By acquiring this site, Hermes is further highlighting its commitment to sustainability and green technology, which recently saw the company place the largest ever initial order of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles in the UK. The new depot has a 40kWp design rating photovoltaic array (PV) on roof, rainwater harvesting system (grey water for toilet flushing), solar thermal hot water to pre-heat water (saves gas), EV charging (additional to base spec, being provided across the park); one column to power two vehicles, embodied carbon assessed and offset via the Planet Mark process; the overall Hemel Hempstead project is protecting 421 acres of rainforest, LED lighting throughout the building (offices, warehouse and externals) and 15% roof lights to maximise natural light in the warehouse, with additional polycarbonate panels in the south elevation to provide further light.
In addition, Prologis Park Hemel Hempstead will protect 421 acres of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy. Working with the environmental charity Cool Earth, Prologis will mitigate 100% of the carbon involved in the construction of the buildings on Prologis Park Hemel Hempstead by protecting an area of the rainforest in Papua New Guinea. This area of rainforest is part of the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy; a unique network of forest conservation initiatives which involves all 53 countries of the Commonwealth.
“We are extremely proud to officially open our state-of-the-art depot in Hemel Hempstead, which will significantly increase the network capacity in the South East. This project demonstrates our total commitment to environmentally friendly, world-class delivery solutions, not just for today, but for the foreseeable future.
Last year we handled 9.7m parcels during our busiest week of the year and we expect that number to grow significantly in 2018. Our team of experts spend the entire year planning for peak so retailers can enjoy absolute confidence in our ability to comfortably process increased volumes driven by Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Christmas period. The investment in Hemel Hempstead illustrates our ambition to be the carrier of choice for both retailers and consumers alike.”
– Martijn De Lange, CEO. Hermes UK
3 Responses
doesn’t matter how much they spend saving the rain forest while their drivers dump the parcel behind the bin, with a neighbour, over the fence, anywhere to avoid actually delivering it to the customer.