Plymouth Mail Centre boosts capacity to 16,000 parcels an hour

Royal Mail has installed a new high-speed Parcel Sortation Machine at its Plymouth Mail Centre, as part of its continued drive to improve efficiency and meet growing demand for next day deliveries. The new machine was unveiled by Rebecca Smith, the MP for South West Devon.

The Mail Centre, which covers the entire PL postcode area across west Devon and east Cornwall, already processes an average of 7,000 parcels an hour. The new PSM will increase the Plymouth centre’s processing capabilities by 9,000 parcels per hour.

A PSM is an intelligent system of conveyor belts and scanning technology that automatically sorts parcels more quickly than manual sorting. Over the last eight years, Royal Mail has successfully rolled out 37 PSMs in 28 mail centres across the UK.

Alison Clace, Plymouth Mail Centre Plant Manager, Royal Mail, said: “Our new Parcel Sortation Machine has arrived at the perfect time! Not only will this speed up our operation over our Christmas peak period, it’s a great opportunity for our staff in Plymouth to learn new skills.”

Neil Chaplain, Engineering and Process Design Director, Royal Mail, said: “Royal Mail’s ongoing investment in automation is helping us to modernise and significantly improve efficiency. The rollout of these new PSMs will help us to meet the increasing consumer demand for next-day parcel delivery and will help contribute to our efforts to provide a consistently reliable service.”

Rebecca Smith, MP for South West Devon, said: “As our postal service approaches the busiest period in the calendar, Christmas, it is even more important that the Royal Mail finds ways to modernise and improve efficiency. I was pleased to join the Royal Mail at their Plymouth Mail Centre last Friday for the opening of their new Parcel Sortation Machine. This cutting-edge piece of kit will increase processing capabilities by 9,000 parcels per hour and help provide a more secure service in the long-term.”