About LWC Drinks
LWC Drinks is the UK’s largest independent wholesaler of beers, wines, spirits, and soft drinks. Operating from 17 depots across the country and making over 17,000 deliveries per week, LWC serves thousands of pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, and hospitality venues nationwide. The Redruth depot serves LWC’s Cornwall and wider South West customer base, supporting a significant fleet of delivery vehicles operating from the site every day.
LWC has been recognised as The Drinks Business Best Distribution Company 2025 and Sommelier Wine Awards Value Wine Merchant of the Year 2024. Keeping that operation running efficiently, reliably, and sustainably is central to how the business operates across all its sites.
The challenge
LWC Drinks required EV charging facilities for company fleet and workplace vehicles at their Redruth depot. As the UK accelerates its transition away from fossil fuel vehicles, large logistics and distribution operators are increasingly under pressure to plan for the electrification of their fleets. LWC needed a reliable, commercially appropriate EV charging solution installed to a high standard at the Redruth site.
The installation needed to be carried out by a NICEIC-approved contractor with commercial electrical experience, ensure the correct cable management and protection was in place for a busy depot environment, and be completed without significant disruption to the site’s operational activities.
Services provided
- Survey and assessment of existing electrical supply capacity at the Redruth depot
- Design of EV charging installation to meet fleet operational requirements
- Supply and installation of EV charger units for workplace and fleet vehicles
- Cable routing, trunking, and containment in a commercial depot environment
- Connection to existing electrical supply infrastructure
- Testing and commissioning of all installed charger units
- NICEIC certification of all electrical installation work
- Handover documentation and user guidance
Our solution
M&E Contrax carried out a full survey of the Redruth depot before specifying the installation. The survey assessed the existing electrical supply capacity, confirmed the available load headroom for EV charging infrastructure, and determined the most practical cable routes from the supply point to the vehicle charging positions.
The installation was planned around the operational schedule of the depot to minimise disruption to LWC’s distribution activities. All cable work was run in appropriate containment for a busy logistics environment, where durability and protection from vehicle movements and operational activity are important practical considerations alongside the electrical requirements.
On completion, all charger units were tested and commissioned, and the installation was certified by our NICEIC-approved team. LWC received full handover documentation covering the installation details and operating instructions for the charger units.
On completion of the mechanical reinstatement, the DC electrical connections were made and the full system was recommissioned and tested to confirm all circuits were operational and generating correctly.
The result
LWC Drinks’ Redruth depot now has commercial EV charging infrastructure in place for workplace and fleet vehicles, commissioned and certified to NICEIC standards. The installation supports LWC’s operational planning as vehicle electrification continues to accelerate across the UK logistics and distribution sector.
The project was completed on schedule in June 2022, delivered by M&E Contrax’s in-house NICEIC-approved commercial electrical team with no significant disruption to depot operations.
