£60m-a-year economic impact as major logistics centre opens
An 860,000 sq ft Ministry of Defence logistics centre that is estimated to be worth £60m a year to the local economy has been formally opened in Shropshire.
Minister for Defence Procurement and West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin officially launched the £83m investment with a tour of the Defence Fulfilment Centre in Donnington.
“We always said that safeguarding the existing jobs at MoD Donnington was the key priority and today we delivered that,” said Telford & Wrekin Council’s leader Cllr Shaun Davies.
“The investment and confidence in Telford has secured and created more jobs, as well as helping to grow the local economy.”
It will provide a consolidated, national centre for MoD logistics, commodities and services. It is expected to deliver saving of around £500m over the next decade.
Baldwin said: “The Defence Fulfilment Centre in Donnington will transform the way we store and distribute essential supplies to the Armed Forces who keep us safe.
“Supported by our rising defence budget, this £83m investment and partnership with leading logistics specialists is concrete evidence of our determination to give our personnel the very best support wherever they are in the world.”
The facility will be managed by Kuehne + Nagel on behalf of Team Leidos and will use new warehouse management systems to maximise efficiency.
Alongside special environmental storage, the DFC’s automated storage and retrieval system will be capable of picking more than 1,000 items an hour.
