Long established UK classic car parts specialist, Heritage Parts Centre has cemented their commitment to supplying their international customers post-Brexit, by opening a European Distribution Centre in Bremen, Germany.

Stocking the 35-year-old company’s top moving product lines for restoring and maintaining classic Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles, European customers can continue to shop as they did in 2020, without costly taxes and potential delays waiting for parcels to cross the channel.

Heritage’s CEO, Barney Dines explained the thought process behind the move: “Throughout the whole transition period, we have done all we can to remain positive and productive to ensure that we would be in the strongest position possible once Brexit finally happened. We started planning this expansion over two-years ago, and the first parcel left our German depot right on time, in January 2021.”

Barney’s business partner, and Operations Director, Mark Rickard explained further: “It was a massive logistics operation for a company of our size, and we couldn’t have possibly done it without our team, including a number of native German speakers. Moving thousands of parts from the UK to Germany was the least of our challenges, we had to find the right-sized site in a central location, install racking, and recruit local staff, engage with local distribution companies, roll out our business systems, and all during a global pandemic.”

This European base doesn’t just offer a benefit to customers when it comes to buying. Heritage’s purchasing strategy has been carefully considered too, with deliveries now arriving from European suppliers at the doors of the German office. Heritage Co-owner and Purchasing Director Paul Howard said: “continuity in cost price and supply chain is critical for us. We have 25,000 SKUs, and carry £3.5 million in stock, selling products to both B2B and B2C.”

For a company that started on a Sussex driveway in the early eighties, this is an amazing achievement for all involved. More information from www.vwheritage.com ENDS.