The opening ceremony was held in the new office space on the sixth floor of the Lewis Building in Birmingham’s thriving Colmore business district and was attended by over 100 guests including local businesses and suppliers who had supported the new office development, customers and local dignitaries.
Following G&W’s 2015 and 2016 acquisitions of UK rail/road/terminal operators Freightliner and Pentalver, the Birmingham office houses G&W’s new UK Shared Service Centre, which includes the UK finance and procurement teams as well as a range of staff involved in on-going technology developments. The new office location also has a dedicated fully equipped training/conference suite that allows for further investment in G&W staff development across the UK. The office also serves as a central hub for regional colleagues, with a large area of the workspace reserved for ‘hot-desking’ and a range of conference facilities for meeting with customers, suppliers and other stakeholders from across the rail, road transport and freight terminal industries.
“We are delighted to celebrate the latest milestone of our investment plan for G&W’s UK businesses, and it is a pleasure to share the moment with our customers, suppliers, colleagues and other guests,” said Charles Noble, CFO for G&W’s UK/Europe Region companies.
“This significant investment in Birmingham and the West Midlands is integral to the on-going transformation of G&W’s UK organisation,” Noble continued. “Improved employee facilities, better technologies and the immensely skilled workforce of the West Midlands will improve processes and efficiency and remove administrative burdens for our customers, suppliers and business partners.
“This facility is just the start of an exciting investment programme that will bring even better service to our customers, further improve operational performance and integrate leading edge technologies into our business.”
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said, “Genesee & Wyoming is one of the world’s major players in freight transportation. Choosing the West Midlands as the location for its UK Shared Service Centre is testament to our region’s reputation as the country’s centre for transport innovation.
“The West Midlands is home to one of the fastest growing shared service clusters in Europe,” Street continued, “and I am delighted that Genesee & Wyoming has recognised that.
“The company has an exciting vision for the region and adds yet another incredibly strong, market-leading brand to the portfolio of businesses making their mark here.”