WDS wins Wall's work
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• Wincanton Distribution Services has won a contract for food manufacturer Mattesson Wall's nationwide distribution, ousting Christian Salvesen, with whom it formerly shared the work. It will run the contract, believed to be worth up to 210m a year over five years, from a hub in Manchester. Around 50 trucks will run for Mattesson Walls and 15 drivers will be recruited. WDS managing director Chas Lawrence says MW switched to using one distribution contractor "to get economies of scale". The company has also won new contracts in the fleet management sector, worth a total of 235m. Customers include Esso, Rank Hovis and Cairn Energy.
But Lawrence reports that the company's removals business is "very much in the doldrums" — around 50 staff have been laid off at two removals sites. "We're keeping a close watch on it," says Lawrence, "but I think we've battened down as far as we need to."