Ocado warehouse fire: Rebuilt Andover centre fully operational

The rebuilt distribution centre will cater for up to 59,000 deliveries per week

A new Ocado distribution centre, which replaced one destroyed by fire, has begun full operations.

The facility in Andover, Hampshire, burnt down following an electrical fault with a robot in February 2019.

The new 217,000 sq ft (20,000 sq m) complex uses hundreds of robots on a grid, collecting groceries for packing and loading on to delivery trucks.

Ocado previously said there would be "more efficient utilisation" of the new building.

The original "customer fulfilment centre", which processed 30,000 orders a week at the time, burned for four days and was completely destroyed after a fault in a battery charging unit caused a robot to catch light.

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority report found there was an hour's delay in dialling 999 and staff had turned off the sprinkler system.

The disaster cost the company about £100m and about 370 workers were laid off.

The rebuilt distribution centre will employ about 1,700 people, and many of those who lost their jobs have returned to work.

At Ocado's warehouses, hundreds of robots zip around a grid, collecting groceries and bringing them to members of staff who pack them into boxes.

It will cater for up to 59,000 deliveries per week for Ocado and Marks & Spencer customers.

Ocado declined a request for an interview but earlier this year general manager Matt Whitwell said: "There is a huge emotional connection for so many of us returning to Andover seeking to capture the magic of what we had before, as well as improving our employee experience and operational effectiveness, wherever we can."

Ocado, which was the UK's third biggest online grocer last year, has seen huge growth during the pandemic, with sales up 40% in the first three months of the year.

However the company had to cancel thousands of orders after another fire, involving a robot, at a fulfilment centre in south-east London last month.

About 800 staff had to be evacuated from the building and firefighters worked through the night to contain the blaze at its Erith site.