NFT Distribution Doubles Its Volume Of CHEP Pallets In Five-Year Contract Renewal

NFT Distribution, the UK’s leading partner to the chilled food and drink sector, has signed a five-year contract renewal with CHEP, the world’s leading provider of pallet and container pooling solutions, for managed pallets in the UK and Ireland.

The new deal will see CHEP supply around 1.1 million of its industry standard B1210A pallets (12000x1000mm) every year into the NFT Distribution network by next summer. The pallets will supply NFT Distribution’s existing shared user warehouse in Daventry, Northamptonshire, along with other NFT customers, helping to deliver multiple products to the UK and Ireland’s network of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) retailers as part of NFT expansion plans.

CHEP’s supply of pallets will also play a pivotal role in supporting NFT’s new handling and distribution centre located at the Port of Tilbury which is targeted to be open for business by late 2015. It will have capacity for 25,000 pallets within the 230,000 square feet facility and be able to handle a throughput in excess of 2.5 million cases per week.

The innovative temperature-controlled facility is strategically positioned to provide optimum inbound solutions for importers, regardless of the point of entry into the UK’s South East. As such, the facility represents a significant investment for NFT Distribution, and is strategically very important to its ambitious expansion plans.

NFT Distribution Managing Director, Andy De’Vere, said: “This port-centric extension to NFT’s offering and substantial expansion to its capacity will be a further step in defining its future development and growth as a key logistics provider in the global food industry. To achieve such an expansion, it’s crucial that we partner with organisations who share our vision and have the capability to deliver. CHEP is the ideal partner for our future growth plans.”

This new agreement between NFT Distribution and CHEP is a culmination of a trusted and growing relationship that has been built over the past six years. Further opportunities to work together are expected to arise over the course of the new agreement, including transport collaboration. CHEP’s innovative transport collaboration programme encourages manufacturers, retailers and logistics service providers (LSPs) to work together to reduce the empty miles by identifying potential transport legs that can be reduced or removed completely.

CHEP UK & Ireland Managing Director, Rod Francis, said: “This deal represents a natural progression for our partnership. Clearly, there are strong synergies between our two organisations, and we’re delighted that NFT Distribution has placed its trust in CHEP to support its rapid expansion plans. I’m hopeful that we can also progress with the transport collaboration opportunity to help drive down costs and carbon emissions.”