- Supermarket’s new Scottish Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) at Eurocentral starts to take shape, as first stage of steel construction gets underway
- The full frame will take 12 weeks to erect and comprises 4,000 tonnes of steel – over five times the amount of The Kelpies
- Lidl invited three of its longest serving employees to the site, to see the building frame
The first stage of steel frame construction is underway at Lidl UK’s new Scottish RDC at EuroCentral, which will be the company’s largest in Britain.
The retailer took three members of its warehouse team, who collectively hold 60 years’ service at the company, along to the site to share progress and discuss business developments with senior management members.
The steel frame will take 12 weeks to erect overall, and is expected to comprise of 4,000 tonnes of steel, which is over five times the steel used in construction of The Kelpies. The site, measuring a total of 51 acres, could fit 29 Hampden Park football pitches on it.
The team from Winvic Construction Ltd, the firm tasked with building the RDC, will complete the job in time for winter 2019, when the distribution centre is expected to welcome Jason Sandie, Denise Farquar, Carol Barclay and their 400 Lidl colleagues, who will relocate from the current Livingston warehouse, which first opened in 1996.
Jason Sandie, Team Manager Goods In, said of seeing the new site for the first time: “I’ve been with Lidl in Scotland for over 20 years, first working in stores and then moving to the warehouse. In that time we have expanded from serving 20 Scottish stores to 95, and the extra space in the new RDC will be very much welcomed. I’m really looking forward to it, and it’s very exciting to see the scale and working areas in the new building.”
Ross Millar, Lidl UK’s Managing Director for Scotland, said: “There’s lots of work ahead but we’re all very excited about the new Distribution Centre. The facility will help us make sure that Lidl stores across the country can continue to serve the increasing demand from our customers. It’s great to see the building begin to take form, which is down to the hard work of many people across the business. We’re all very much looking forward to moving into this high spec facility next year.”
Neil Bannerman, Operations Manager for Winvic, said: “We are delighted to be working with Lidl again to build its largest regional distribution warehouse so far in Britain, illustrating how Winvic and its team members are seasoned in building client relationships and delivering first class schemes time and again. Construction of the new RDC is progressing well and we are looking forward to facilitating the move from Lidl’s existing facility at Livingston next year.”
The relocation forms part of the supermarket’s commitment to invest £1.45bn in Great Britain across 2017-18 and will create up to 360 new jobs. Lidl’s success continues, with the latest Kantar Worldpanel results* showing continued sales growth of 9.7% and a market share high of 5.4%.
*Kantar Worldpanel, July 2018
About Lidl UK GmbH
Since establishing itself in the UK in 1994, Lidl has experienced continuous growth in Great Britain and today has over 22,000 employees, 710 stores and 12 distribution centres in England, Scotland and Wales. As part of the Schwarz retail group, Lidl is one of Europe’s leading organisations in the food retail industry. With a presence in 30 countries around the world, the supermarket, which has more than 260,000 employees globally, currently operates approximately 10,500 stores and more than 150 distribution centres in 28 countries globally. The family supermarket takes pride in providing its customers with the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices throughout Great Britain, from Kirkwall to the Isle of Wight. Social responsibility and sustainability are at the core of the company’s daily operations, with the company placing a strong emphasis on its responsibility for people, society and the environment. Lidl UK is passionate about working with British producers and sources two thirds of its products from the UK, working with suppliers across the British Isles wherever possible.
The Schwarz Group (Kaufland, Lidl) has been Europe’s largest food retailer since 2014 and generated a turnover of €96.9 billion in financial year 2017. For more information about Lidl UK visit www.lidl.co.uk.
Comments are closed.