Luton, UK: Discount grocery store chain Lidl has opened its largest regional distribution centre in the world in Houghton Regis, Luton. The 1.2 million-square-ft warehouse, at a cost of £300m, will deliver more than 9,400 pallets daily to 150 stores.
The new RDC has solar panels that generate 2,000,000kWH’s of electricity annually. It will operate purely on solar power at certain times throughout the year. All the warehouse’s delivery fleet is powered by biogas from food waste to support Lidl’s goal to make 100% of its fleet diesel-free by 2030.
Lidl GB chief development officer Richard Taylor said: “The fact that Lidl’s largest RDC in the world is here in Great Britain speaks for itself, not only in terms of us needing to meet the growing demand from customers, but also in terms of our ambition to grow that demand in the future.
“It is a spectacular state-of-the-art site that our team has worked incredibly hard on to get to where we are today. It has the capacity to service 150 stores, which is nearly triple the amount of some of our existing warehouses, demonstrating the true scale of our ambition and growth potential.”
