Case Studies

Alpro UK, is the UK production and distribution facility of Alpro Soya Bv of Belgium. Birchmoor Associates, the Rushden based storage and materials handling specialists were selected to equip the distribution warehouse. The heavy duty racking was constructed in a VNA configuration for wire-guided "turret" trucks. Each 12m high bay has a 21 tonne capacity with 3 tonnes per level giving the warehouse an overall capacity close to 10,000 tonnes.

The racking features single piece 12m and 12.5m uprights which involved the construction of a temporary "Finger Dock" on one of the raised loading docks to enable the uprights to enter the 3m wide doorway lengthways.

The whole installation was completed 2 weeks ahead of schedule with the total time from order to delivery being just 5 weeks plus 2 weeks for construction.

Piet van Tichelen of Alpro Belgium co-ordinated the project and commented : - "Birchmoor Associates were a logical choice for the project as they were established UK distributors for our existing Belgian racking supplier who also recommended them. We worked together on the whole warehouse equipment specification from the 'superflat' floor slab specification to the wire guided trucks and racking. The whole installation was completed ahead of time and without any problems. We shall certainly consider Birchmoor for any future projects, both in the UK and mainland Europe."

Northamptonshire based warehouse equipment supplier Birchmoor Associates have completed a successful mobile storage installation for the Tibetan Plateau Institute for Botanical Research in Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province. The project was completed in conjunction with Kew Gardens in London and comprised of five systems installed within chill store chambers.

Each system is designed as a "Seed Bank" and stores the seeds in a controlled temperature of 1 to 5 degrees Celsius. The seeds are collected from rare and endangered plant species from all parts of China as well as the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalaya, for storage, tests and incubation, therefore allowing propagation and multiplication of endangered species.

These systems maximise the storage area available by mounting the shelving on a series of mobile bases, allowing the shelving to move sideways on a floor mounted track system. In this way only one access aisle is required, and the shelving is moved sideways to create the aisle in the required position. The system is particularly suited to applications where large volumes of records are required, regular access is necessary and space is limited.

The systems are also lockable and may also be used as a secure storage facility for high value goods or pharmaceutical products where access needs to be restricted.

Materials for the project were shipped in containers from the UK but the building in Kunming was incomplete and the storage installation had to be delayed for a year until the site was ready. The project took under three weeks to complete.

This is the latest in a series of world-wide "Seed Bank" facilities with existing sites in Wakehurst Place (UK) and in Canada with plans for other facilities on each continent.

Previous Birchmoor mobile projects have included : -

• Royal Bank of Scotland ( Dublin, Jersey Liverpool & Bishopsgate, London)
• RAF Hospitals in Gibraltar and Rinteln (Germany)
• Ensign Insurance HQ Chelmsford (9 systems)
• Northampton, Edinburgh & Grantham museums

JoJo UK, a division of the French Group Schneider selected Birchmoor Associates to equip their 42,000sq ft production and distribution facility in Wellingborough Northants.

Barry Page was the Project Manager for JoJo and said "Birchmoor Associates were selected against stiff competition because they offered the most cost effective solution to the project, and I know from my previous dealings with Birchmoor that customer satisfaction and attention to detail would be of prime importance. The entire installation team were very flexible and helpful and I look forward to joint co-operation with Birchmoor on future projects."

The 6m high pallet racking was designed with expansion in mind to allow the racking to be extended in height at a later date if required. The installation featured a semi narrow aisle layout to maximise the building capacity and utilise "Bendi" type articulated Fork Lift Trucks.

One run of racking was modified to accommodate a Carton Live Storage order picking system. This area can be easily increased or reduced to accommodate changing product demands. The whole storage installation was completed on schedule with the total time from order to sign-off being only 6 weeks.

We had a request for one of our mezzanine floors from Carrs welding. It took just 6 working days from placement of order to completion for a new mezzanine floor for specialist precision welders Carrs Welding in Kettering. Carrs had secured a new prestige contract in the motor industry which meant that the existing site could no longer cope and additional space was urgently required.

Birchmoor Associates designed the additional area to fit around existing crane facilities and once the design was approved, manufacture and installation was completed within six working days, allowing the new contract to start on schedule.

Carrs MD, Phil Carr had this to say: "Birchmoor certainly pulled out the stops on this one and allowed us to start our new contract on schedule. I was most impressed with their professional approach and efficiency."