Just days after announcing completion of a new parcel facility in Wolverhampton, Roya Mail have announced completion of another new fully automated parcel facility which can process 195,000 parcels per day has been installed in Chester. Royal Mail are really stepping up their ability to process parcels as their letters business continues to decline.
The parcel sorting machine is an intelligent system of conveyor belts and scanning technology that automatically sorts parcels for despatch within Royal Mail’s network.
Based in Royal Mail’s Chester Mail Centre, the parcel sorting machine uses its 267 sorting trays and 86 outlets on a continuous carousel to process up to 10,000 parcels per hour for deliveries across Chester and the rest of the UK.
Built by automated technology company Bowe Group, the parcel sorting machine – which is about the same length as six double-decker buses – can handle a variety of parcel shapes and sizes weighing up to 31kg.
The installation is part of Royal Mail’s multi-million pound investment programme to replace significant manual sorting processes that can be both time consuming and physically demanding and help the Company meet the surge in demand for parcels and online shopping. Using parcel automation can mean that parcels are sorted up to four times more quickly than manually sorting them.
We are transforming the way Royal Mail processes parcels given the rapid growth in online shopping in recent years. Our investment in state-of the-art parcel sorting machines will help us better meet the growing demands of our customers in Chester and the rest of the UK and is a vital part of the ongoing reinvention of Royal Mail.
– Sarah Coulson, Parcels Automation Programme Director, Royal Mail
We are extremely pleased to partner with Royal Mail on this journey towards fully automating their sorting centres with our very latest technology. We believe our parcel sorting solution and services will enable Royal Mail to effectively meet the demands of their customers now and in the future.
– Paul Ward, Managing Director, Bowe UK & Ireland
A total of 39 Royal Mail parcel sorting machines are set to be in operation by October 2022 – nearly a 100% increase in a year. This includes installations at new hubs being built in Warrington and Daventry, which when operational, will be able to process more than 1.5million parcels per day.
