Cannock-based APC delivers record-breaking Christmas
A major parcel delivery group based in Cannock enjoyed a record-breaking Christmas in the wake of large-scale recruitment, bosses revealed this week.
APC Overnight took on 100 extra permanent workers in the run-up to the festive period, which turned out to be its busiest for the firm ever.
The company, which has its main sorting hub on the Kingswood Business Park, processed more than 2.5 million parcels during December.
The company hit its busiest ever week between Saturday, December 12, and Friday, December 18, processing almost 800,000 parcels.
Its busiest night saw a 26 per cent increase on the previous year, with a five per cent increase for December as a whole.
The surge in deliveries has been put down to the increasing demand from small firms selling online.
The milestone followed a period of growth for the business, which led to the recruitment of an extra 100 permanent staff.
Many of the people who secured new jobs at APC Overnight had been laid off in the collapse of the City Link delivery company the previous Christmas.
The company said the key to its continued success has been the growth in small and medium-sized independent businesses across the UK, which are its main customers.
Chief executive Jonathan Smith said: "I am incredibly proud of the team we have here at our central distribution centre who work throughout the night in order to make sure parcels are delivered on time. This achievement is a real collaborative effort and is also testament to our strong network of individually owned depots nationwide.
"With several thousand small and medium sized businesses reliant on us throughout the UK, we're proud to say that we've helped them reach even more of their customers than ever before."
APC is owned and run by a string of independent local delivery businesses running 115 depots around the country. It now employs around 500 people at Cannock, where it has also invested heavily in new parcel-handling equipment.
It has twice been named the Express and Star's Business of the Year, in 2012 and 2013, making it the only company to have won the same award twice.
Last month its most recent financial figures, for the 12 months to the end of March 2015, revealed an 11.5 per cent rise in turnover to £98.8 million, but pre-tax profit fell by more than £1m, down to £2.4m from £3.5m the year before.
This was put down to a change in the market combined with the additional costs of operating across multiple sites while improving facilities at Cannock.
