HRH The Princess Royal visited Warrington to officially open a £1m project at Eddie Stobart’s flagship Appleton Thorn HQ.
Her Royal Highness opened the all-new Eddie Stobart Service Support Centre in Appleton Thorn – a 60,000 sq ft development housing 200 employees.
The Princess Royal was met by Eddie Stobart Executive Chairman, William Stobart, for the opening of the company’s flagship depot that houses 200 employees from across the business, and facilities including the unique Eddie Stobart Training Academy, fleet operations, IT, HR, business systems and administration.
Attending in her capacity as Patron of Transaid, The Princess Royal welcomed Eddie Stobart as a new corporate member of the charity, which aims to improve road safety and access to healthcare in Africa through the implementation of transport solutions and driver training programmes.
Executive Chairman William Stobart said: “We are delighted to welcome the Royal Patron of Transaid, a charity we are close to at Eddie Stobart. We’re very grateful to our guest for her support in opening the all-new Service Support Centre, which has been in the making since January 2014, and we are extremely proud of the facilities the new centre offers. The Eddie Stobart team here in Warrington, as always, has done us proud.”
Gary Forster, CEO of Transaid, said: “Corporate supporters are key to the success of our projects; their hard-earned knowledge, in addition to their financial contribution, allows our projects to reach more of the people who would benefit greatly from our help. We are delighted to see Eddie Stobart joining our corporate membership scheme and look forward to working together in the future.”
The new Appleton Thorn centre sees the company’s renowned fleet department and award-winning training academy move into the 60,000 sq ft purpose-built facilities in Warrington, from their previous sites in Widnes.
Eddie Stobart employees have occupied the new facilities since August 2015, with service support functions from across the business now centralised at Appleton Thorn – also home to the company’s head office since 2006.
To accommodate the different needs of functions from across the business, the cavernous interior of the building has been split into sections with large double-skinned partition walls, with specialist sections for academy training, truck wrapping and fleet operations. A striking new reception area, built from the shell of an Eddie Stobart LGV, marks the centrepiece of the new Service Support Centre, as a welcome area for all employees and visitors.
Several training and meeting rooms, a 150-seater café, and parking for 100 LGVs and 165 cars complete the new Service Support Centre build project.
For more information visit www.eddiestobart.com
HRH Princess Royal is given a guided tour by Executive Chairman William Stobart (right) and Chief Operating Officer David Pickering
William Stobart with HRH Princess Royal
