Packaging company expands to Yorkshire site

Reusable packaging specialist Tosca has finalised a new 10-year lease from Onward Holdings Ltd, doubling the company’s warehousing capacity at the Yorkshire, UK site. The deal combines two 30,000 sq ft units on the Green Lane Industrial Park in Featherstone.

Tosca, a global leader in reusable plastic packaging and performance pooling solutions with a portfolio including crates, pallets, bulk containers, and more, acquired a warehouse at the location around eight years ago shortly after the facility was built. Tosca acted quickly when the unit next door became available as it coincided with the business’s expansion strategy for the region.

Onward Holdings’ continuing investment in sites in Yorkshire for commercial property development has sustained economic activity in the area. Featherstone is a sought-after supply chain location only a short distance from the major motorway infrastructure of the M62, M1 and A1M and is within easy reach of the northern container ports.

The industrial estate benefits from excellent distribution connections and is also close to the railway freight network via the nearby Wakefield Europort. According to Onward Holdings around 80% of the UK’s population is accessible in four hours, making the site ideal for bulk distribution items.

Yorkshire is “important geographic area”

Steve Raybould, Tosca’s Operations Director UK & Ireland, says: “The signing of a new and extended lease with Onward at the Featherstone site builds on our existing relationship with Onward and makes an important commitment to support our UK business for the long term, with the enlarged footprint giving us additional capacity in this important geographic area.”

Onward director, Neil Storey, added: “Tosca is a long-standing client and has been operating out of Featherstone for many years. They had first bite of the cherry when next door became available and agreed a new lease on the whole site.”

Along with logistics facilities for storage and distributing across Yorkshire, Onward Holdings also supplies value-added services, including 3PL managed warehousing, Pallet Storage, Container Emptying, Order Picking and Reworking – all controlled by its Managed Warehouse System. Suitable for both durable cargo and ambient food storage, long and short-term leases are available.

Operating high quality industrial warehousing, Onward Holdings’ sites include Castleford, Doncaster, Ackworth and Scunthorpe. The company also built Onyx Retail Park, the successful shopping and eating destination on the former Manvers colliery in South Yorkshire.

 

Kite Packaging extends Coventry campus

Adding almost 190,000 sq ft, Kite Packaging’s Coventry capacity now stands at 380,000 sq ft, offering a considerably larger inventory to clients. With space for c.40,000 pallets, Kite says great stock availability is guaranteed. An additional 30,000 sq ft of space in Unit 2 awaits expansion as the company continues to grow, with plans to increase Coventry personnel to 170 people.

Significant investment went into furnishing the new site, with Kite supporting the local economy by hiring Midlands-based contractors where possible. The units feature new IT infrastructure and energy-efficient machinery, with 18 new forklifts, 14 low-level order pickers, and a conveyor system to streamline warehouse processes. With no shortage for space, Kite’s mobile packaging laboratory has its very own parking place when it is not out on visits.

Complete with a meeting room suite, exceptional canteen and breakout space, the campus also boasts a dedicated educational facility which Kite describes as “like no other in our industry”, providing on-site training for employees and customers as well as a great work environment. Surrounding wildlife has been preserved and landscaped with walkway access, benefitting the employees without disturbing the natural environment.

The move saw more green initiatives accommodated, enabling Kite to refine its existing sustainable operations in its new home. While modern insulation and smart lighting are employed for energy efficiency, the site has also been fitted with solar panels to source renewable power. A campus-wide recycling initiative has been implemented, along with Kite having its very own on-site water recycling plant for self-sufficiency. To add, electric vehicle charging points have been installed across the premises with the opportunity to add more if the need arises.

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