{"id":2314007,"date":"2026-03-05T15:31:17","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:31:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2314007"},"modified":"2026-03-05T15:31:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T15:31:17","slug":"prince-edward-unveils-new-headquarters-during-engagement-celebrating-family-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/prince-edward-unveils-new-headquarters-during-engagement-celebrating-family-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Prince Edward unveils new headquarters during engagement celebrating family business"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Duke of Edinburgh visited Witham on Wednesday to formally open the new headquarters and warehouse complex of PFE Express Ltd, marking a major moment in the freight forwarding company’s four-decade history.<\/p>\n

Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s youngest son, toured the 135,000 square ft premises and met with staff members, apprentices, customers and suppliers during his visit.<\/p>\n\n

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His Royal Highness concluded the occasion by unveiling a commemorative plaque at the site.<\/p>\n

The facility, which has been operational since November 2025, represents one of the most significant investments ever made by the third-generation family business, consolidating sea freight, warehousing, customs clearance, haulage and national distribution operations under one roof.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Prince Edward opened the new headquarters and warehouse complex of PFE Express Ltd<\/p>\n

| <\/span><\/small><\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

PFE Express was established in 1984 and has remained under family ownership across three generations.<\/p>\n

The company began with just a single site and half a dozen employees, growing substantially over the subsequent four decades.<\/p>\n

Today, the business employs more than 160 people working across four regional offices, with operations supported by an international network of partners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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PFE has been based in Witham for over two decades, and since moving to its new premises, the workforce has expanded by 45 per cent.<\/p>\n

This growth has cemented the company’s status as one of the largest employers in the area and a notable contributor to the local economy in Essex.<\/p>\n

The new logistics hub incorporates several environmentally conscious features, including renewable energy systems and charging points for electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

Broader development work at the site has also included investments in biodiversity and sustainable transport connections, reflecting the company’s commitment to responsible expansion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Prince<\/p>\n

The family business opened in 1984<\/p>\n

| <\/span><\/small><\/p>\n

PA<\/p>\n

During his tour, the Duke met employees who have served the company for more than 40 years, as well as apprentices who have progressed through PFE’s internal training programmes.<\/p>\n

The access road to the new facility has been named Albert Way, a tribute to founder and chairman Peter Albert Collins, acknowledging his instrumental role in building the business over more than four decades.<\/p>\n

Adam Collins, the company’s managing director, said: “It was a tremendous honour to welcome His Royal Highness to Witham to mark this important moment in our company’s history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“This new facility reflects our long-term commitment to our people, our customers and the future of the business.<\/p>\n

“As a family business, it was particularly meaningful to share this milestone with our team, many of whom have built their careers with PFE over decades.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Prince<\/p>\n

The Duke of Edinburgh unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit <\/p>\n

| <\/span><\/small><\/p>\n

PA <\/p>\n

Founder and chairman Peter Collins added: “It feels like the icing on the cake.<\/p>\n

“It is a true success story, made possible through the close co-operation between management and staff, and last but not least, our reliable and long-standing partners throughout the world.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.gbnews.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Duke of Edinburgh visited Witham on Wednesday to formally open the new headquarters and warehouse complex of PFE Express Ltd, marking a major moment in the freight forwarding company’s four-decade history. Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s youngest son, toured the 135,000 square ft premises and met with staff members, apprentices, customers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2314008,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[37258,22701,398065],"class_list":["post-2314007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty","tag-prince-edward","tag-royal","tag-sgg"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Prince-Edward-unveils-new-headquarters-during-engagement-celebrating-family-business.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2314007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2314007"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2314007\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2314009,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2314007\/revisions\/2314009"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2314008"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2314007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2314007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2314007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}