Mawdsleys, the UK’s largest independent distributor of pharmaceutical and medicinal supplies, has formally opened its newly expanded third-party logistics (3PL) warehouse facility in Doncaster, with a visit from Rt Hon Ed Miliband, Labour MP for Doncaster North and Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The footprint of the warehouse has been doubled to 300,000 sq ft – almost the size of five football pitches – while major green upgrades have been made to the site.
Environmental improvements include fitting the roof with an array of 3,375 individual photovoltaic (PV) panels, wired to a 39-tonne battery providing 2,600kWh of storage – one of the largest systems of its kind in the UK. The aim is to provide two-thirds (65-68%) of the site’s annual electricity needs.
William Sanders, Group CEO at Mawdsleys, said, “We are delighted to unveil our expanded pharmaceutical third-party logistics (3PL) facility at Redhouse.
“It was clear that we urgently needed additional space to support our clients, as they service the NHS and UK pharmaceutical sector. As an industry leader – the largest independent supplier of medicinal products to the NHS – it is also important we continue to lead from the front on environmental matters.
As well as warehouse solar array and battery, the extensive modifications include the trial of an ‘E-Cool’ truck trailer. While most refrigerated trailers are diesel-powered, E-Cool trailers are powered by electricity, reducing the carbon and particulate emissions associated with transportation of refrigerated products.
They incorporate an energy recovery system which converts kinetic energy into electricity when the vehicle brakes, which is stored and then used to power the cooling unit.
All Mawdsleys’ HGVs and LCVs are fitted with solar panels to power many of the vehicles’ electrics, reducing fuel usage by up to 5%, and their car fleet is predominantly electric, with the remaining few vehicles being plug-in hybrids.
As part of its membership of The Climate Group’s EV100 scheme, the company aims to make all its light duty vehicles EVs by 2030.
Mawdsleys is a Net Zero certified company and plans more environmentally-friendly projects across its other sites.
