Santa will be getting a little helping hand this weekend courtesy of a rapidly-growing Dudley firm.

The Mayor of Dudley, Councillor Dave Tyler, paid a visit to DPD Local Dudley, a parcel delivery franchise run by local businessmen Richard Walters and Duncan Bateman. His trip marks Cllr Tyler’s 88th visit to a business in the area after taking over the role.

The business, based just off Peartree Lane, is at its busiest during the festive period. Drivers and staff have been snowed under this week loading vans and delivering thousands of parcels to go under the tree ahead of the big day.

DPD Local Dudley moved in to its new premises two months ago. At over 20,000 sq ft of warehouse it is double the size of the previous site in Lye, where the depot had been for 25 years.

The team have invested £750,000 in developing the new depot, which currently employs 47 people. The depot has created 15 new positions within the last three years, eight of which were within the last 12 months, as the operation continues to expand. The plan is to create a further five new jobs at least in 2018. Councillor Dave Tyler, the Mayor of Dudley, said:

“It’s more important at this time of year than any other that people receive their parcels on time.

“Richard, Duncan and their team are doing a great job helping Santa out. They’ve had a great year and I am sure the business will continue to grow and expand in the future.”

DPD Local is a member of DPD Group, one of Europe's leading parcels groups, which employs more than 11,000 people in the UK and delivers more than 200 million parcels a year.

The DPD Local brand was created in February 2017 when one of the UK’s most successful parcel delivery firms, Interlink Express, was rebranded to create greater consistency within the DPD group. 

The company operates from 90 local depots around the UK and uses the same award winning technology as sister company DPD, but focuses on providing a more local service for shippers with smaller volumes.