AMAZON’S Gourock centre is celebrating its 10th birthday this year — after sending tens of millions of items around the world.

The Faulds Park plant opened in July 2004 with only 30 employees, and now has several hundred.

The company does not disclose exactly how many people work at each site, but said 16 of the original Gourock team are still there.

Gourock is one of two ‘fulfillment centres’ in Scotland, eight in Britain and 20 across Europe that have helped to revolutionise the way we buy.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of items at Gourock, which specialises in supplying books, DVDs and CDs, rising to a few million by Christmas.

The first Gourock employees joined on 9 July 2004 and the first items were shipped on 14 August. Amazon’s regional operations director is Nicola Sweeney of Port Glasgow, who is in charge of the internet giant’s Gourock, Dunfermline, Swansea and Peterborough operations.

Nicola, 36, joined the company eight years ago after working with Playtex and said the Gourock site has seen various milestones, including the launch of iconic items like the Harry Potter books and the Kindle e-reader.

She said: “It’s a family affair here.

“We have countless family relations who work here together — parents, brothers, sisters and spouses, along with new family ties established where people meet at work, marry or live together and have their own Amazon family!” Nicola said facilities for employees have improved at the plant over the years.

She said: “We are always trying to improve the working environment.

“Shift patterns have been changed to four days on and three off, and this has proved popular.” The Gourock general manager is Marcelo Affonso from Brazil, who has been with Amazon for five years and joined the Gourock team in June.

Marcelo, 33, a Glasgow University graduate, says equipment at the plant has been made more user-friendly for employees.

He said: “We have new technology in various areas, and there has been a huge investment in the future of Gourock.” There have been three general managers at Gourock before Marcelo, and they are still with Amazon — Philippe Hemard is vice-president of European transportation, Sandy Davidson has become general manager of another programme and Gavin Morrison is now general manager in Dunfermline.

Original employees at Gourock who are still there include Greenockian Neil Buie, 49, an area manager within the plant. He said: “I see myself here in another 10 years. I’ve seen a lot of investment in infrastructure and software. The operation is now much slicker.” Neil’s 23-year-old son, also named Neil, has been full-time at Amazon for five years after starting as a temporary worker. He works in the imaging department, where his job includes taking pictures of items for the company website.

Health and safety manager Laura Flynn, 38, has also been at Gourock for a decade.

She said: “There is now more emphasis on health and safety. We all work together as a team and I’ve made a lot of friends along the way.” Looking to the future for the Gourock centre, Nicola said they are always continuing to build and grow.

She said: “We want to be thinking about what’s going to be happening in the next year.

“We’re certainly looking forward to the next 10 years at Gourock.”