50-year-old transport firm John K Philips Group moves to carbon-neutral Warrington headquarters

A family-owned logistics firm celebrating its 50th anniversary this year has moved to a new carbon-neutral HQ in Warrington. John K Philips Group was founded by Mr Philips in 1974 after buying a truck to deliver paint. Today it specialises in the storage and UK distribution of paint and specialist liquids for sectors including pharmaceuticals and healthcare, with 80 staff and a fleet of 35 trucks and 32 trailers.

It has now relocated from St Helens to a 135,000sq ft warehouse and office building called Solar 120, in Europa Boulevard, Warrington. The site is a former BT call centre that was acquired in 2022 by CBRE Investment Management and transformed into a modern warehouse that was named building of the year at the National Sustainability Awards in 2023. Today it has an ‘excellent’ BREEAM rating with features including solar panels, LED lighting and heat pumps.

John K Philips, a member of the Palletforce express distribution network, has also introduced new electric forklift trucks to help it offer carbon neutral warehousing to customers increasingly concerned about sustainability. The day-to-day running of the John K Philips Group is led by managing director Alan Simpson, who joined in 2019. John’s daughter Karrie Hughes is the commercial director.

Founder John Philips said: “We have made a significant investment in our new headquarters and warehouse to give us additional storage capacity in line with our plans for future growth. We’ve been growing steadily year-on-year by 15%, and our aim is to continue to expand at this rate. “Our new location is close to the motorway network and is an ideal location from which to grow our customer base.

“Solar 120 is carbon neutral, with the electricity generated from solar panels powering our warehouse, offices and new forklift trucks. “Sustainability is a priority for our business and our relocation to Solar 120 enables us to deliver significant further progress in this area, with more investment in electric vehicles planned, providing us with the capability to decarbonise our customer supply chains. “Alongside this, we continue to invest in our people and in technology to drive efficiency and productivity.

It’s an exciting time for the business as we celebrate our 50th anniversary.”

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