Foodstuffs North Island is boosting its freight capacity with a $21 million cross dock facility and depot which has opened in Wellington.
The Grenada Transport and Milk Depot features 3,250 square metres of buildings set on a 8,775m2 site and includes six truck bays for simultaneous loading and will employ around 30 people.
It’s the third regional transport depot opened by the co-operative in 14 months, and follows new sites in Whangārei and Hastings.
The multi-temperature facility will serve as a key hub for receiving bulk orders of milk as well as chilled, frozen, and produce orders from Foodstuffs North Island’s Palmerston North distribution centres.
The new facility will receive larger orders while teams breakdown, sort, pick and dispatch final deliveries to individual stores across the Wellington region using a fleet of smaller trucks.
Regional suppliers will also benefit from being able to use the site for delivering goods destined for Foodstuffs North Island’s larger distribution centres across the North Island.
Chief executive Chris Quin says the new site provides “a new level of supply chain excellence to the Wellington region”.
“This is the third regional facility we’ve opened in the last 14 months, and we’ve got more plans in the pipeline because we’re committed to providing customers right across the North Island with access to the freshest, highest-quality products at the best value, while becoming more efficient and sustainable.”
Key features of the new facility include its capability to collect bulk produce orders directly from local markets and sort them in a temperature-controlled environment using state-of-the-art equipment and facilities.
The new site will enable Foodstuffs North Island to handle more freight than ever before while providing capacity to support the growth of the Wellington region and to service future stores, the co-op says.
The new includes more efficient CO2 refrigeration, the latest LED automated lighting and the ability to charge electric trucks and cars on site.
