sbh.uk - Industrial Development - Yorkshire, Thirsk
Date: 12 Mar 2003
High Street quality clothing retailer Austin Reed Group has extended its national distribution centre in Thirsk, Yorkshire, to respond to growing demand for its own brand and its Country Casuals brand of clothing. The 4,682 sq m (50,500 sq ft) £1.9m extension has enabled the company to re-organise and re-quip the complete centre with an overhead hanging garment transport and sortation system, and multi-level mezzanine storage. Project-managed by distribution property specialists sbh.uk, the centre can store up to 42,000 garments, an increase of 33%, and can sort up to 15,000 garments per hour to ensure the widest possible selection at all times in Austin Reed’s retail outlets.
Austin Reed Group’s Administration Director summed up the company’s satisfaction at the result. “A big success, carried out by a group of companies who did a great job – on time, within budget, without disruption. They left the site looking as though no-one had been here, with a tremendous new facility.”
Following a review of its supply chain strategy by logistics consultants Lucidea Consulting in 1998 after acquiring Country Casuals, Austin Reed implemented a number of interim recommendations designed to improve storage, inventory management and throughput. However it was clear that the company would soon need significant extra space to cope with continued and planned expansion and after a review of various options, the decision was made to extend the existing facility.
Lucidea Consulting defined the operational requirements for the new warehouse and sbh.uk was appointed to project-manage both the construction and fit-out. Norwest Holst Construction, who recently worked with sbh.uk on a 38,000 sq m warehouse for General Motors, was appointed main contractor.
While tendering the project sbh.uk obtained planning permission and reviewed potential equipment suppliers for both the building structure and handling systems. The company appointed a full time site manager to oversee and manage every aspect of the project, liasing between the various suppliers. As well as working closely with suppliers including Veit (UK) and Planned Storage Systems, sbh.uk oversaw the installation of the hanging garment structural rail system and sprinklers.
Designed to meet the insurer’s latest requirements, sprinklers were installed beneath the mezzanine in the existing building. With limited water pressure they can only be fed from the existing sprinkler pump supply, while the sprinkler installation in the extension is fed by a new pump and tank system with higher water pressure.
Staircases to the upper storage levels have been placed in fire protected shafts and the pedestrian walkways have open decking below the dynamic storage lines to assist early smoke detection and to enable sprinklers to reach the source of the fire easily. In addition the two buildings have been opened up to provide integrated storage and handling but can be closed and fire-sealed (and alarmed) in an emergency.
As well as standard dock levellers the extension has been fitted with a number of innovative combi dock levellers. Believed to be one of the few buildings in the UK with this new design, combi dock levellers can be lowered down to 40 cm to service a small van or raised to 2.0m for high deck vehicles.
Planned Storage Systems designed and supplied pallet racking, shelving, carton live storage and the two tier rack structure which supports three levels of dynamic storage. The decking panels can easily be changed around to provide conventional static storage for hanging garments if needed.
The garment transport and sortation system from Schőnenburger was designed and installed by Veit (UK) Ltd. Garments are delivered and placed on trolley trains and checked for quality and quantity. Items allocated to a store are transferred for manual sorting and then taken to a multi-level dynamic storage area for placing in store sequence. Products remain on the trolley until required for dispatch. Each input/output buffer can handle 7,500 garments and each of five sortation lanes can process up to 3,000 garments per hour.
The system uses an inexpensive sortation system and standard trolleys, which ensure fast throughput and turn-round while maintaining the level of flexibility vital to meet retail demand.
Austin Reed’s Group Administration Director commented: The project is a tribute to what can be achieved in a very short timescale by sourcing an excellent project control team, who in turn have the ability to manage a group of highly capable companies – a great success.”
Related website: sbh.uk
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