A new automated processing centre for the South East has been opened by Parcelforce Worldwide in Hatfield, Herts.

The South East Processing Centre will create 60 jobs for people in the local area, and may well reduce carbon emissions as parcels for the SE of England are processed there and not at a central processing facility.

Grant Shapps MP, who opened the facility said: “As soon as you enter the building, you can’t help but be impressed by the fast-operating pace and high levels of automation. Combined with the key Hatfield location, I have no doubt that the new facility will help Parcelforce to deliver packages across the region more efficiently, particularly during peak periods.

“Importantly though, the high levels of automation have not come at the expense of local jobs. The new site will in fact create over 60 local jobs from warehouse operatives to drivers. I do therefore believe that Parcelforce should be commended for this fantastic new development.”

A spokesperson from Parcelforce Worldwide, said “The new South East Processing Centre is central to Parcelforce Worldwide’s continued investment in innovation, technology and the growth of our business. We are pushing the boundaries of automation with the technology we have installed, supporting the growing demands and the increasing requirements of our customers. It will enable us to handle even more parcels, allowing us to drive up our customer experience and continue to maintain our consistently high end-to-end quality nationwide, all the year round including Christmas.”

The new centre can process up to 50,000 parcels a day and was developed by Caljan and Royal Mail Engineering.