400 jobs being created at huge McDonald's distribution centre in Coventry

More than 400 jobs are being created at a huge McDonald’s distribution centre in Coventry, which has now officially opened for business.

The new facility is exclusively supplying hundreds of McDonald’s restaurants throughout the region and represents a £4.5m investment by the fast food chain’s logistics partner Martin Brower.

It is located in the former Palmer & Harvey distribution centre in Dolomite Avenue, Canley.

The new Martin Brower distribution centre in Coventry which is supplying hundreds of McDonald's restaurants (Image: Coventry Telegraph)

The Palmer & Harvey facility closed down after the company went into administration in November 2017.

Martin Brower has been McDonald’s supplier for 15 years as part of the company’s ‘three-legged stool’ approach to business - a partnership involving the company, franchisees and suppliers.

The fit-out for the former Palmer & Harvey centre was completed in a record six months and saw almost 200 workmen employed at the site.

It began operations in December 2018 and they have increased in the interim before today’s official opening.

There are currently 250 people employed there, some of whom are former Palmer & Harvey staff, but that number is set to rise to more than 400 over the next few months.

The distribution centre is currently supplying 200 McDonald’s restaurants but when fully operational will supply more than 300 restaurants.

John Doherty, transport and operations manager for the new distribution centre, said: “We currently employ 250 people but as we grow we will be up to 400 people.

“We have got a great bunch of people here and very much think it is a good place to work with a friendly buzz about the place.”

The Martin Brower distribution centre in Coventry supplying McDonald's restaurants

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The new distribution centre will complement existing facilities in Heywood near Manchester, Hemel Hempstead and Basingstoke.

John Park, CFO for McDonald’s UK, said: “We have worked with Martin Brower for several years and they identified this site - a vacant facility in the right place.

“The one in Heywood in the north of England was reaching capacity and this will take some of the pressure off.

“Then it was a case of how quickly we could get it open.

“Normally it would take 2-3 years but this took just six months.

“More than 400 jobs are being created, some of whom are people from Palmer & Harvey who we managed to re-employ.

“They will be taking on more people as they grow.”

The huge distribution centre contains separate warehouse areas, including a main storage area the size of four football pitches, two giant chilled areas and a huge freezer area.

Mr Park said the new distribution centre was opened to help cater for McDonald’s continued growth.

He said: “We have had 13 years of consecutive sales growth and have ambitions to continue to grow the number of restaurants we have and our sales.

“We will open 40 new McDonald’s restaurants this year alone.”

That growth is mirrored locally, with McDonald’s footprint in Coventry also set to increase going forward.

John Kiely, who owns six of the seven McDonald’s restaurants in Coventry and employs 720 staff, said: “Our business has grown and grown and Coventry has grown very quickly.

“I am looking at opportunities for more restaurants in the foreseeable future.”

To the rear of the facility a huge lorry bay sees HGVs coming and going constantly.

Lorries are loaded-up at docks and there is a covered return area focused on delivering sustainability.

It sees cardboard, plastic wrapping from pallets, cooking oil and grease trough waste returned from restaurants to be recycled.

The cooking oil is subsequently turned into biodiesel and the grease trough waste is used to help power the biodiesel manufacturing process.

Performing the official opening of the new facility, McDonald’s UK and Ireland CEO Paul Pomroy said: “I want to grow this business and the growth we have seen in the last four years we are going to replicate over the next four years.

“We want to have another 200 restaurants across the UK.”