Two years after devastating fire Ocado on track for return to Andover
The company's new 'customer fulfilment centre' will employ 1700 people and should be open by the end of the year
Last updated 8th Feb 2021
Two years on from a devastating fire at their Andover depot Ocado say they are on schedule to open their new 'customer fulfilment centre' later this year.
The fire in Feb 2019 raged for almost a week and at its peak more than 300 firefighters from Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Hertfordshire were involved in tackling it.
A report found that the cause was an electrical fault at a battery charging unit, but also highlighted a detection system failure and that staff had turned off sprinklers to try and manage the fire themselves.
Ocado said the fire cost them £110m while Hampshire fire and rescue service put the cost of fighting the huge fire at £132,000.
The fire created a considerable community emergency as well with around 100 residents living near to the Walworth Business Park being forced to evacuate, a 300 foot (500m) exclusion zone was put in place over fears that a giant gas cylinder might explode.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service described it at the time as "the largest commercial property fire and most dangerous we've ever been involved with"
No one was badly injured, but the delay in calling the emergency services meant that the 18-acre robot grocery distribution centre was completely destroyed.
The site had processed more than 30,000 online food orders each week and although Ocado set up a temporary base 400 jobs were lost.
In February last year the full effects of the fire became clear when the company announced a 27 per cent fall in core earnings in the 12 months to 1 December 2019, meaning its losses were nearly five times as much as the previous year.
Rising from the ashes
Ocado say the new facility will employ around 1700 people across a variety of different roles, ranging from Personal Shoppers (our warehouse operatives) to Management as well as Engineers, Tech support and Drivers. Roles have been made available to all those who worked at the site in 2019 and around 200 employees who worked there previously are planning to return to work at the new site. All new and returning employees will receive a thorough induction and training at the new facility.
The new centre will be 217,000 square foot (compared with 225,000 for the previous site) and cater for up to 59,000 deliveries per week when it's at peak capacity. The original centre, which opened in December 2016, was the first of its kind in the world and the company says provides the format for the new facilities they have built and are building in the UK and around the world. The learnings and experience from the further rollout means the new Andover site will benefit from the latest Ocado Smart Platform (OSP) technology. There will also be more efficient utilisation of the building itself as well as the plot with regards to the delivery operation. New additions are a large acoustic barrier around the site to limit noise emissions to neighbours along with ecological improvements including bird boxes, bat boxes and dormice habitats.
Matt Whitwell, General Manager, Ocado Group, commented:
“I am so proud of everyone at Ocado Group that has come together and put such a huge amount of time, effort and love into the last two years of rebuilding the Andover CFC. I would like to thank all my colleagues who have contributed to a project unlike any other, and a special mention to those in Delivery Operations who have continued to serve the local area throughout this time. There is a huge emotional connection for so many of us returning to Andover seeking to capture the magic of what we had before, as well as improving our employee experience and operational effectiveness, wherever we can. We are almost there, and we cannot wait to open our doors and send out the first orders later in the year”.
Kim Lund, Senior People Partner, Ocado Group, commented:
“We are delighted to be re-engaging with the Andover community and have been overwhelmed by the response to our return. It has been fantastic to reconnect with many former employees of the site, and it is a credit to the Ocado brand and culture that many are returning to work again at the site. The hard work continues ahead of fully reopening but in the meantime, we are looking forward to immersing ourselves into the Andover community, by providing great employment opportunities as well as supporting local schools, colleges, charities and business connections.”
The new centre is expected to open in the Autumn.