Posted on Friday 28th October 2011
APC moves to Kingswood Lakeside
A leading courier firm has joined Staffordshire’s growing family of nationally and internationally acclaimed businesses.
APC Overnight has announced it is to locate its new purpose built 121,000 sq ft logistics centre at Kingswood Lakeside business park in Cannock. The company has announced that 120 jobs will be created and 300 existing jobs protected.
The site, developed by Staffordshire County Council in 2005, was transformed from a former open cast mine into the home for a number of high profile businesses today. Once planning permission for the site has been approved, the company hopes it will be fully operational by Christmas 2012.
APC is moving from its existing base in Essington, South Staffordshire, because of its need to expand. The decision to relocate within Staffordshire adds to the county’s numerous economic success stories – most notably Jaguar Land Rover and Amazon choosing to invest here in recent months.
Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for economic growth and prosperity Ben Adams said:
“APC Overnight is a national leader in the courier industry and another flagship firm to locate at Kingswood Lakeside.
“The news that APC is creating 120 jobs and protecting 300 is fantastic for Staffordshire. We’re proud to have initially developed the site and rejuvenated a former colliery site into a thriving centre for business.
“APC joins the growing family of businesses choosing to locate in Staffordshire which really does demonstrate that our county is an ideal place to invest.
“The economy and prosperity are our top priorities and we are ensuring that we invest in supporting business and in the necessary infrastructure to attract major national and international companies.”
Staffordshire County Council has been working with APC and site developer Opus Land.
Ivor Skinner, APC Overnight managing director, said:
“The new hub is essential to APC’s national operations and future development; it is a major investment made possible through the growth we are enjoying across the APC network. With the high demand for our next day deliveries, we have outgrown our existing hub in Essington. The new site at Kingswood Lake will provide us with a well-designed, state-of-the-art and very efficient national base. Also, by remaining in the Midlands, we can retain our highly skilled workforce and the location is convenient for future recruitment, as and when we need additional hub staff. We are also equipping the new hub with advanced systems that will boost productivity and efficiency.”
Gareth Williams, Development Director at Opus Land said “We are delighted to be working with another high quality business to help them meet their occupational needs at Kingswood Lakeside. We have worked closely with Staffordshire County Council as landowners and with The Alternative Parcels Company to facilitate this development and provide a further boost to the local economy.”
Each month APC collects, routes and delivers more than 1.4 million parcels