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Unilever has completed a £150 million investment in its Port Sunlight site, reinforcing the facility’s role as a strategic manufacturing and logistics hub for the company’s UK and European operations.
New Distribution Centre Enhances Logistics Efficiency
The investment includes advanced manufacturing upgrades for laundry products and a new automated distribution centre directly connected to the site’s three factories, supporting end-to-end supply chain operations from production through to retail delivery.
The flagship automated distribution centre is designed to improve capacity, efficiency and service levels across Unilever’s supply chain network.
Spanning 10,000 square metres, the facility uses 2,000 metres of automated conveyors and eight 30-metre-high stacking cranes capable of handling up to 17,000 pallets, equivalent to 13,600 tonnes of product, each week and connecting the distribution centre directly to the factories will remove the need for hundreds of weekly lorry movements between manufacturing and off-site warehouses.
Lee Mawson, Head of Customer Operations, Unilever UK and Ireland, said: “This is a big step forward for us in our UK and European supply chain.
“The distribution centre will boost capacity, efficiency and service levels for our retail customers, improving product availability and enabling direct dispatch to retailers in the UK and a number of European markets.”
The investment also includes upgrades to Port Sunlight’s Home Care manufacturing operations, which produce brands including Persil, Surf and Comfort.
The new manufacturing capability will increase laundry capsule production three-fold while enabling production of smaller and more complex capsule formats, including Persil’s new four-chamber capsules developed at the company’s Port Sunlight R&D labs.
Madeleine McLeod, Factory Director for Port Sunlight Home Care, said: “The investment completion we are announcing today makes us future-fit, boosting our capacity and efficiency as we roll out our latest home care innovations.”
Supply Chain Decarbonisation Embedded into Facility Design
The new logistics hub is powered by 100% renewable energy and includes solar panels, heat pumps and solar reflectance painting.
Unilever said the reduction in lorry journeys is expected to deliver a 27% reduction in primary logistics emissions, saving an estimated 827 tonnes of CO₂.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “This new facility shows how economic growth and sustainability can go hand in hand.
“By cutting hundreds of lorry journeys from our roads each week, Unilever is supporting our target to reach net zero by 2035, improve air quality for local people, and support ambitions for a cleaner, greener city region.”
Port Sunlight Remains Central to Unilever’s Manufacturing Strategy
Port Sunlight remains one of Unilever’s most significant manufacturing and R&D sites, employing around 2,000 people across production, logistics and innovation functions.
Marc Woodward, Head of Unilever UK, said: “This is a landmark moment for Port Sunlight.
“The completion of investments in Home Care manufacturing and the opening of a new flagship distribution centre will support the growth of our business and reinforce Port Sunlight’s role as a strategic hub for our UK and European operations.”
This article was produced by the editorial team at Supply Chain Outlook and published as part of the Outlook Publishing global network of B2B industry magazines.
Outlook Publishing delivers industry insights, company stories, and sector coverage across supply chains, manufacturing, mining, construction, healthcare, food production, and sustainability.
Supply Chain Outlook provides ongoing coverage of organisations and developments shaping the global logistics and supply chain sector.
