UK delivery company Hermes has opened an 80,000 square foot distribution centre at the Prologis Park in Hemel Hempstead ahead of the coming peak season.

The centre can process more than 130,000 parcels a day and is located in the Enviro-tech Enterprise Zone in Hemel. Its rooftop solar array has a design rating of 40kWp while the building also boasts a rainwater harvesting system and uses grey water wherever appropriate. The building also uses solar thermal hot water to pre-heat water and to save on its use of grid gas.

The Hermes site has LED lighting throughout and 15% of the roof is glass to maximise natural light inside. Polycarbonate panels on the south side of the building add to natural light. The depot also features EV charging, with one column to power two vehicles.

“We are extremely proud to officially open our state-of-the-art depot in Hemel Hempstead, which will significantly increase the network capacity in the South East. This project demonstrates our total commitment to environmentally friendly, world-class delivery solutions, not just for today, but for the foreseeable future,” said Hermes chief executive Martijn De Lange.

“Last year we handled 9.7m parcels during our busiest week of the year and we expect that number to grow significantly in 2018,” he added. “Our team of experts spend the entire year planning for peak so retailers can enjoy absolute confidence in our ability to comfortably process increased volumes driven by Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the Christmas period.”