Warehouse Extension.

Kettler approached NU Construction with a storage problem at their Redditch depot.  Following the continued success of their business, they had been forced to outsource their warehousing operations to rented properties which were proving too expensive. Adjacent their existing facility was a sloping area of land which they hoped to develop into a warehouse for 5000 pallets.

NU Construction were awarded this design and build contract to provide a 4,100m2 warehouse extension capable of meeting increased requirements of the flourishing business.  Working with the clients preferred racking supplier, NU Construction developed a design for a high bay, steel framed warehouse which exceeded the client’s 5000 pallet storage target.

Close cooperation with the Redditch Council’s Planning Department, their Arborist and NU Constructions Environmental Consultant allowed a sympathetic environmental scheme to be developed by ensuring existing established trees were protected to maintain habitats for wildlife.  Select trees were allowed to be pruned rather than removed to provide access to the building for construction and maintenance and a scheme to protect bats led to the introduction of over 20 alternative roosting boxes.

The steel frame design was developed to provide access for a mobile tower crane to be erected inside the building to allow cladding panels to be installed to the land-locked rear of the building. The column centres were adjusted to corelate with the existing building, to provide the required openings between the old and new warehouses and to maximise aisle widths by keeping the steel stanchions as slender as practical.

The foundations were incorporated into the new retaining wall toe design, and where there were clashes with the existing foundations, a floor level ring beam was designed to allow the new foundations to be constructed above the existing bases without jeopardising the structural integrity of the existing operational warehouse.

The racking design was coordinated with the client’s preferred forklift provider to ensure aisle widths were suitable, but still allowed pallet numbers to be maximised.  The lighting and siphonic rain-water systems were designed to be located at the highest possible positions so that they did not hinder the forklifts reach for the top pallet positions.  The design was matched by the workmanship to ensure the high reach forklifts had a suitable FM1 floor slab to run on.

Following the success of the project, NU Construction were invited to negotiate the replacement of the entire roof of the existing facility.  After experiencing the improved lighting levels provided by the new liner sheets, the larger rooflights and the modern lighting, the client was determined to match the standard throughout their existing warehouse.  These works were carried out within 12 months of the completion of the main warehouse.