The Co-operative Group has appointed Adrian Buxton as general manager at its new £20m regional food distribution depot in Avonmouth, which is due to open later this year.
Adrian, pictured, joined The Co-operative in an administrative role in 1979 and worked his way up to managing food stores before moving to logistics. He has managed distribution depots in Chelston in Somerset, Nottingham, and most recently the group’s 320,000 sq ft composite distribution centre in Thurrock, Essex.
The new 435,750 sq ft Avonmouth facility will employ up to 900 staff and serve around 492 Co-operative food stores in Bristol, North Somerset and South Wales. It will replace several smaller depots in the region.
The Co-operative Food head of logistics service Mark Leonard said: “Adrian has a wealth of experience at The Co-operative and has proven himself in distribution management at several of our key sites.
“It was important we appointed someone capable of spearheading our new state-of-the-art facility and managing its ramp-up to full capacity, while at the same time maintaining delivery schedules to our stores.”
Adrian added: “I am looking forward to the new challenge and working with the team at Avonmouth to continue to provide an excellent service to Co-operative stores.”
