PRESS RELEASE: Masters Set to enter New Year with £1 million investment

Warehousing and distribution specialist Masters is set to start the New Year with a bang with a £1 million investment into the business as it gears up for growth.

The substantial cash injection comes just over 12 months since the Ely based business, which is also a member of the Palletline Freight Distribution Network, was acquired by leading third party logistics provider Knowles Logistics to lay strong foundations for continued growth.  

Investments include a series of system upgrades as well as five new rigid trucks and ten new fork lifts as a part of their ongoing fleet replacement programmes.

As a part of Knowles’ long-standing relationship with Volvo, which spans over 25 years, Masters has purchased three 26 tonne Volvo FE 320 Rigid trucks and two 18 tonne Volvo FE 320 Rigid trucks.

All vehicles will be accompanied by Lawrence David bodies which feature aerodynamic roofs for improved fuel efficiency and will operate on Palletline collections and deliveries in the Cambridgeshire and Huntingdon Area.

Masters’ new forklifts – which consist of four Toyota Electric Counter Balance, two Gas Counter Balance and four Electric Alise Masters Narrow Aisle articulated forklifts – will operate at the company’s warehouse operations. The trucks were purchased from Truckmasters Handling, who will also be providing ongoing maintenance and service.

The three new system upgrades have also been procured in order to propel the business forward as it looks to enhance its offering to customers both existing and new.

ProWMS – Chess Edition has been introduced to maximise capacity within the current warehouse facility by giving the operational team the tools to receipt and despatch consignments in a timely efficient way whilst maintaining full control and accountability for customers stock – providing customers a real time picture of their stock on arrival and at the point of despatch. 

Masters has also invested in Solo Plan – Carlo, which enables the business to plan collections and deliveries for customers whilst optimising the vehicle fleet to its maximum capacity. This not only gives Masters customers real time ETA’s and Proof of Delivery as it happens, but through maximising their fleet, the system will propel the company’s net zero target forward, reducing its carbon emissions 50% by 2035.

Masters has also implemented Sage 200 to streamline its financial operations through offering a reduction in time spent conducting manual data entry as well as providing customers accurate and timely invoices.

Mark Stoodley, Managing Director of Masters commented: “In order to build for the future, Masters Logistical is delighted to announce that it has committed £1m in capital investment in order to facilitate growth, improve our infrastructure as well as enabling us to work more closely with Knowles Logistics.

“Our new suite of system upgrades will essentially underpin every facet of the business by streamlining our warehousing operations, financial operations, and transport solutions. As a business, we are committed to reducing emissions and in turn creating a sustainable and economical business that can cater to the needs and requirements of its customers, so we took the strategic view to invest in systems that will provide such solutions, without compromising on growth and customer service.

As a part of our ongoing fleet replacement programme, we were also delighted to take delivery of our Volvo FE 320 Rigid trucks and fleet of forklifts, as we continue to upgradingour vehicles in line with our commitment to investing in the best models available to complement our operation and sustainability goals.”

Mark concluded: “With ambitions of future growth, we are confident that our £1 million investment will set the foundations for a positive new year as we continue to work closely with Knowles Logistics on our journey to solidifying our ever-growing position in the warehousing and distribution marketplace.”