Aldi has begun handling fresh produce at its £500 million automated distribution centre in Bardon, Leicestershire, as the facility moves into its next phase of operation.
The first pallets of fruit and vegetables, including ginger and avocados, arrived at the site on 16 September, with the first outbound pallet dispatched the following day. Operations at the 1.3 million ft² distribution centre initially began in May 2026.
Aldi describes Bardon as “the UK’s largest automated warehouse”. The discount supermarket has invested in the facility as part of a wider £1.6bn investment in Britain during 2026 and 2027. The site also has 19,000 solar panels installed on its roof.
Once fully operational in 2027, the distribution centre is expected to handle more than 1.5 million kilograms of fruit and vegetables per day during peak periods, with more than 6,000 pallets of fresh produce dispatched to Aldi stores across the UK each day. Overall, it will have capacity to handle nearly seven million pallets annually.
Automation supplied by Cimcorp is being used across three temperature-controlled areas. In the chilled chamber, pallets are moved into high-bay racking until they are needed to go to stores, then automated shuttles will call them down for dispatch.
Jonathan Heaton, regional managing director for Bardon at Aldi UK, said: “Fresh produce is a vital part of our customers’ shopping, yet it presents one of the most complex challenges in grocery logistics, with products needing to move quickly and efficiently from suppliers to stores to maintain freshness”.
He added: “The technology we’ve implemented with Cimcorp allows us to handle enormous volumes while maintaining the precision and care that fresh products demand.”
The DC is expected to employ around 1,000 people once fully operational and will add capacity to Aldi’s distribution network as the supermarket works towards its long-term ambition of operating 1,500 UK stores.
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