Machine that can sort 157,000 parcels a day installed at Royal Mail base in Wolverhampton

The machine has been built by automated technology company Solystic and uses a system of conveyor belts and scanning technology to sort parcels.

It has been installed at the North West Midlands Mail Centre – based on Sun Street behind the railway station – as part of a multi-million pound move to speed up the process.

The machine can process up to 7,500 parcels per hour to delivery offices across the Midlands and the rest of the UK and can handle a variety of parcel shapes and sizes, up to 20kg.

Sarah Coulson, parcels automation programme director at Royal Mail, said: “We are transforming the way Royal Mail processes parcels given the rapid growth in online shopping in recent years. Our investment in state-of the-art parcel sorting machines will help us better meet the growing demands of our customers in the Midlands and the rest of the UK and is a vital part of the ongoing reinvention of Royal Mail.”

Parcel chiefs say the move will replace the manual sorting processes that can be "both time consuming and physically demanding" and help the company meet the surge in demand caused by online shopping – with the process believed to be up to four times faster.

Maurizio Puppo, director of strategy and business development from Solystic, said: "We are delighted to be part of this important initiative with Royal Mail. Our parcel sorting machines will help Royal Mail quickly and effectively sort the increasing number of parcels that are being posted across its network thanks to the growth in e-commerce. We look forward to supporting Royal Mail with this new technology."

A total of 39 Royal Mail parcel sorting machines are set to be in operation by October this year – nearly a 100 per cent increase in a year. This includes installations at new hubs being built in Warrington and Daventry, which when operational, will be able to process more than one-and-a-half million parcels per day.