Logistics firm plans to create jobs in Birstall (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Logistics firm plans to create jobs in Birstall

11:00am Friday 3rd February 2012 in Business By Chris Holland

Growing demand has led a Bradford-based logistics group to open a new operations centre which is set to create up to 150 jobs this year.

Advanced Supply Chain, based on the Euroway trading estate near the M606, is moving into a 200,000 sq ft customs bonded centre at Birstall.

The latest move comes a month after the company signed a three-year deal with one of Europe’s fastest growing retailers Go Outdoors which will see Advanced invest an extra £5 million in its new Midlands warehouse and recruit 100 more staff.

The new Birstall operations centre has been opened in response to increasing demand from Advanced’s clothing manufacturing and freight forwarding customers. The company said it had invested ‘heavily’ in the new centre.

The Birstall building brings Advanced’s operational space to more than one million sq ft. It was initially intended to accommodate overspill storage for the company’s existing customer base, but growing demand has created a need for the site to become a full operations centre.

Jane Marshall, general manager at the new centre, said: “Advanced Supply Chain is experiencing a huge demand from the UK clothing sector for pre-retailing operations in the UK.

“This, combined with a requirement for additional warehousing for new freight forwarding customers, which has occurred as a result of the Sinotrans partnership, means that our new Leeds facility will be run as an additional operations centre alongside our main pre retail site in Holmfield, Halifax.”

Sinotrans is China’s largest logistics company.

The Government-owned company works with Advanced Supply Chain to offer UK customers logistics for the movement of goods to and from Asia.

The deal was expected to create another 40 jobs at Advanced, which employs 400 people in Bradford and Halifax, and help boost the firm’s turnover to £25 million.

Jane, who was previously ASC’s implementation manager, has been seconded to the Birstall site to manage the operation.

Before joining Advanced she worked for Tesco, Argos and Lakeland Leather.

Advanced’s chief executive Mike Danby said: “As a Yorkshire-based business we are delighted that this new venture will be generating job opportunities in the area over the next year as the company continues to go from strength to strength.”

The deal with GO Outdoors, which has a branch near Pudsey, will enable Advanced to expand its warehouse in Corby. which employs 150 people and was the firm’s first major move away from its Bradford base. Last year Advanced also signed a £24 million three-year deal with wholesaler Makro to transport more than 1,000 pallets a day from 350 suppliers. The company also handles products for Asda and DFS.

Advanced has invested more than £1 million in new IT software over the past three years to expand its capability to deliver bespoke services to clients such as Makro. It is also spending £2 million on a total of 60 Makro-liveried trucks.