Mercia Park's 50th Celebrations

To commemorate Unipart’s 50th Anniversary and recognise the hard work and dedication that has driven our successes at Mercia Park so far, we opened our site for a Family Fun Day in September.

Honouring Our Team

The past 18 months have been transformative for Mercia Park, and our new site has flourished thanks to the remarkable efforts of our dedicated colleagues. Bringing a new facility online is no small feat, and it’s taken passion, perseverance, and teamwork to make it happen. This Family Fun Day was the perfect opportunity to acknowledge the countless hours and tireless efforts of our team. But we also wanted to recognise the unsung heroes behind the scenes—the families of our colleagues who have supported them throughout this journey.

A Community Celebration

As a site with a significant impact on the local community, it was important for us to highlight our local connections wherever possible. The food suppliers for the day came from the neighbouring village, and the children’s entertainment was provided by local vendors from the surrounding area. This focus on supporting local businesses helped to strengthen the sense of community and connection that defines Mercia Park.

Sharing Our Story

With a new workforce joining Unipart at our site, it was important to use this event as a platform to share more about who we are, where we’ve come from, and where we’re headed. As a company with a 50-year legacy, Unipart has been shaped by innovation, resilience, and a clear focus on people. This was a chance to bring our story to life and demonstrate that, even though our new site is still forming its own unique culture, its roots are firmly embedded in The Unipart Way, as the way we think, work and behave.

Looking to the future, we emphasised that our people make the difference. They are more than colleagues—they are the heartbeat of our operation, the driving force behind our success, and the key to our continued growth. To capture this belief, we had a 360° camera and selfie stations set up, ensuring colleagues and their families could create lasting memories together.

Opening Our Doors

It’s easy to become accustomed to the sheer scale and complexity of Mercia Park, but seeing it through the wide eyed expressions of loved ones was a wonderful reminder of how impressive our site truly is. To give our guests a glimpse of the magnitude of our operations, we arranged site tours, led by our knowledgeable Mercia Park team, One of the highlights was a display of some of the machinery and equipment we use daily. While we couldn’t showcase all 300 pieces of Material Handling Equipment (MHE) that keep our operations running smoothly, our team did an excellent job of lining up a selection of the fleet, allowing families to see firsthand the tools that make our site one of the largest single-customer units in the country.

Showcasing the end product

Our event was fully supported by our customer, JLR, who brought along five of their key Land Rover lines for visitors to explore. After seeing the various parts in the warehouse and learning about the intricate logistics that go into our operations, it was impressive to see the final products—beautifully crafted vehicles— on display. Walking around these finished cars offered a tangible connection between the components handled at our site and the incredible final products that roll off the line, showcasing the pride and precision that define our work.

Celebrating Through Song

The Family Fun Day was the pinnacle of our 50th anniversary celebrations, but it wasn’t the only way we marked this special milestone. We kicked off the month by inviting colleagues to join together in a fun musical celebration, in honour of Unipart’s 50 years of success. You can take a look at the finished video below. This lively kick-off set the tone for a month of festivities and reflections, bringing our team closer together and highlighting the spirit that makes Unipart so special.

Looking Ahead

With such a large workforce, we wanted to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to experience the highlights of the 50th anniversary celebrations. As part of our ongoing efforts to engage and connect our teams, we will be running a series of Town Halls in November. These sessions will bring more of the 50th content to life, from The Unipart Way to our strategic plan for the future.

Steve Clarke, Mercia Park Operations Director said:

“The Family Fun Day provided a valuable opportunity to welcome new colleagues to the Unipart family, sharing our rich history and core values while fostering a positive work environment. It also allowed us to deepen our partnership with JLR and express our sincere appreciation for our dedicated team and their supportive families. The event's overwhelming success allowed us a moment to recognise colleagues' efforts, commitment and thank their incredibly supportive loved ones too. With over 1,000 attendees and £2,000 raised for charity, strengthens my belief in our team's commitment to driving continued progress and transformation for JLR's aftermarket.”

Want to know more about Mercia Park?

Mercia Park is Jaguar Land Rover's Global Parts Logistics Centre (GPLC) and is one of the largest warehouse developments for a single customer in this country, bringing together JLR’s two distinct, British brands under one roof.

Mercia Park continues Unipart’s 30+ year relationship with JLR, providing logistics and transportation capabilities within the automotive sector. The mobilisation of this extraordinary contract has seen a number of the seven capabilities being applied to date with Consultancy, Design, Engineering, and further opportunities to showcase that we are the supply chain solutions and performance improvement technologies partner within the aftermarket and the automotive sector.

Unipart employs over 1800 colleagues on three shifts and across the 2.3 million square foot purpose built facility. The site opened in October 2022 for operational set up, with the first receipt of product November 2022 and First true Outbound in April 2023.