Day: 6 October 2020

Prologis UK has signed a lease with 3PL e-commerce specialist, Cygnia, for a building on Prologis Park Pineham in Northampton. Cygnia is one of the UK’s leading providers of end-to-end global solutions for companies seeking a logistics, fulfilment, or contract packing services. The 15-year lease sees Cygnia taking up DC7, a new building on the park totaling 211,304 sq. ft. This will be the second unit on Prologis Park Pineham the e-commerce giant calls home as, since 2011, Cygnia has been operating from DC2, a 140,000 sq. ft. unit also on the park.

“Cygnia’s decision to expand at Prologis Park Pineham further endorses Northamptonshire as a premier location for manufacturing and distribution,” said Ashleigh Hayes, Capital Deployment and Leasing for Prologis UK. “The park has been built with connectivity in mind, strategically located within the golden triangle of logistics and boasting immediate access to the national motorway network.”

“With a longstanding relationship with Prologis, it was a simple decision for us to expand our operations to the new DC7 unit at Pineham,” said Glenn Lindfield, CEO of Cygnia Logistics. “As well as its proximity to our current distribution hub on the same Prologis Park, we were attracted to the unit’s strong environmental credentials and its potential to help further reduce our operational costs. With the e-commerce boom prompting more demand for our services, the extra space will be key to facilitating the growth of the business, while keeping the environment in mind.”
Cygnia anticipates the expansion on the site will create an additional 250 jobs in the region.

Prologis Park Pineham has been designed with employee wellbeing in mind. Dedicated areas of green, open space with walking and trim trails encourage employees from all the businesses on the Park to enjoy time outdoors. DC7 has an EPC rating of A9, which significantly exceeds building regulations, and includes features such as roof lights, solar PV, and Tesla battery storage. The building is also BREEAM-rated ‘Excellent’ has had its environmental credentials certified by the Planet Mark and is protecting 150 acres of rainforest thanks to Prologis’ 12-year partnership with climate action charity, Cool Earth. The final phase of Prologis Park Pineham is now available with full planning consent for two scheme layouts; 492,840 sq. ft or 330,241 sq. ft. unit (DC3) and 158,805 sq. ft. unit (DC8), all of which are available on 5-year lease terms.

Prologis UK has signed a lease with 3PL e-commerce specialist, Cygnia, for a building on Prologis Park Pineham in Northampton. Cygnia is one of the UK’s leading providers of end-to-end global solutions for companies seeking a logistics, fulfilment, or contract packing services. The 15-year lease sees Cygnia taking up DC7, a new building on the park totaling 211,304 sq. ft. This will be the second unit on Prologis Park Pineham the e-commerce giant calls home as, since 2011, Cygnia has been operating from DC2, a 140,000 sq. ft. unit also on the park.

“Cygnia’s decision to expand at Prologis Park Pineham further endorses Northamptonshire as a premier location for manufacturing and distribution,” said Ashleigh Hayes, Capital Deployment and Leasing for Prologis UK. “The park has been built with connectivity in mind, strategically located within the golden triangle of logistics and boasting immediate access to the national motorway network.”

“With a longstanding relationship with Prologis, it was a simple decision for us to expand our operations to the new DC7 unit at Pineham,” said Glenn Lindfield, CEO of Cygnia Logistics. “As well as its proximity to our current distribution hub on the same Prologis Park, we were attracted to the unit’s strong environmental credentials and its potential to help further reduce our operational costs. With the e-commerce boom prompting more demand for our services, the extra space will be key to facilitating the growth of the business, while keeping the environment in mind.”
Cygnia anticipates the expansion on the site will create an additional 250 jobs in the region.

Prologis Park Pineham has been designed with employee wellbeing in mind. Dedicated areas of green, open space with walking and trim trails encourage employees from all the businesses on the Park to enjoy time outdoors. DC7 has an EPC rating of A9, which significantly exceeds building regulations, and includes features such as roof lights, solar PV, and Tesla battery storage. The building is also BREEAM-rated ‘Excellent’ has had its environmental credentials certified by the Planet Mark and is protecting 150 acres of rainforest thanks to Prologis’ 12-year partnership with climate action charity, Cool Earth. The final phase of Prologis Park Pineham is now available with full planning consent for two scheme layouts; 492,840 sq. ft or 330,241 sq. ft. unit (DC3) and 158,805 sq. ft. unit (DC8), all of which are available on 5-year lease terms.

For the second time, Linde Material Handling has been awarded a gold medal in the EcoVadis Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) rating in recognition of its efforts towards sustainability. This means that the globally operating intralogistics specialist is among the top two percent of all companies from the mechanical engineering sector evaluated in 2020.

“Due to the quality of our sustainability management, we are among the leaders in our industry. This is both recognition and incentive at the same time,” says Christophe Lautray, Chief Officer Sales and Service at Linde Material Handling, adding that participation in the EcoVadis rating always provides concrete indications of where the company can improve even further. “We bring this potential for improvement into line with the goals and measures of our long-term corporate strategy.”

Linde MH has been participating in the EcoVadis CSR rating since 2012 and has been able to significantly increase its overall score year after year. This time, Linde Material Handling was certified for having achieved improvements in areas such as environmental protection and ethics. The ratings in the areas of labor law and human rights as well as sustainable procurement were confirmed.

The positive EcoVadis rating is increasingly attracting interest from customers and other stakeholders. For example, the company is more and more frequently asked to provide evidence of its sustainability performance in invitations to tender, and sometimes this is even a prerequisite for participation. “With the gold medal, we can prove that Linde Material Handling is a reliable partner and assumes social, ethical and ecological responsibility,” states Lautray. “On the other hand, it is becoming increasingly important for us that our suppliers participate in the EcoVadis rating as well. This will enable us to demonstrate the sustainability of our supply chain more effectively and to meet the required holistic approach.”

According to EcoVadis, the rating agency has already evaluated more than 45,000 business partners around the world. Each company is assessed with regard to those topics that are relevant to its size, location and industry. EcoVadis’ rating mechanism is designed to promote continuous improvement. It is therefore not enough to rest on one’s laurels to maintain the achieved score. In addition, answers to the extensive list of questions must be backed up by company-specific documents, e.g. CSR reports, codes of conduct, internal instructions and reporting documents.

Chemical warehouse and transportation business H.W. Coates is operating a fleet of lift trucks featuring Pyroban’s active explosion protection systems in its new hazardous chemical warehouse in Cheshire, UK.

“Our new state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled warehouse was purpose-built for a long-standing customer to store solvent-based paint,” says Matthew Coates, Director and Site Manager at the Middlewich facility. “In this warehouse alone, we have 5,500 pallet spaces for flammable products, with a 27,000 pallet capacity on site. Our Middlewich site is an Upper Tier COMAH* site and we have extremely strict safety processes and equipment.”

The warehouse is classified as a Zone 2 hazardous area under DSEAR** (ATEX) because a flammable atmosphere is not expected unless there is an accidental spillage or release.

“Forklift trucks are a crucial part of our paint handling operation, but we needed to make sure they could not be the source of an ignition and had full ATEX*** compliance,” Matthew says. “We selected Pyroban’s system6000 explosion protection product to provide our team with the very best levels of safety and make sure they are alerted to any spillage or accidental release of solvent vapours.”

Two Linde V08 low-lift order pickers are in use alongside two Linde N20 low-lift order pickers featuring a vacuum arm that supports the regular picking of 20L paint tubs which can weigh up to 40 kg. With top shelves of 9m high in the hazardous chemical storage warehouse, three ATEX 3G Aisle-Master articulated lift trucks are also used.

“Flammable material is contained within tubs, tins and pales at H.W. Coates, so a flammable atmosphere is not expected, but it could happen,” says Rob Vesty, Sales Manager for Pyroban. “In these Zone 2 hazardous areas it is important that operators are not blind to the risks and are made aware when a potentially explosive atmosphere is present so that the cause of the flammable atmosphere can be investigated and rectified,”

Active gas detection systems are used on the lift trucks which play a vital role in significantly improving onsite safety. If any solvent vapour is detected at 10% LEL**** (propane in air), operators get a visual and audible warning prompting them to drive away from the area and raise an alert for investigation and clean up. If the vapour levels rise to 25% LEL the trucks will automatically be brought to a controlled stop preventing any potential explosions.

Pyroban’s system6000 combines the gas detection with various explosion protection methods including the modification of arcing, sparking and hot components. Restricted breathing enclosures were used to restrict the ingress of any flammable vapour where appropriate, hot surfaces are monitored, forks were clad with a non-sparking material and more. The vacuum arm was also converted as part of the overall ATEX compliance.

“Quality, compliance and sustaining the long-term relationship between Linde, Pyroban and H.W. Coates was critical,” says Dominic Lewis, Key Account Sales Manager from Linde. “The Linde trucks were built in Germany and France and converted at Pyroban’s UK factory receiving a single CE marking in time for the inauguration of the warehouse last year.”

Chemical warehouse and transportation business H.W. Coates is operating a fleet of lift trucks featuring Pyroban’s active explosion protection systems in its new hazardous chemical warehouse in Cheshire, UK.

“Our new state-of-the-art, temperature-controlled warehouse was purpose-built for a long-standing customer to store solvent-based paint,” says Matthew Coates, Director and Site Manager at the Middlewich facility. “In this warehouse alone, we have 5,500 pallet spaces for flammable products, with a 27,000 pallet capacity on site. Our Middlewich site is an Upper Tier COMAH* site and we have extremely strict safety processes and equipment.”

The warehouse is classified as a Zone 2 hazardous area under DSEAR** (ATEX) because a flammable atmosphere is not expected unless there is an accidental spillage or release.

“Forklift trucks are a crucial part of our paint handling operation, but we needed to make sure they could not be the source of an ignition and had full ATEX*** compliance,” Matthew says. “We selected Pyroban’s system6000 explosion protection product to provide our team with the very best levels of safety and make sure they are alerted to any spillage or accidental release of solvent vapours.”

Two Linde V08 low-lift order pickers are in use alongside two Linde N20 low-lift order pickers featuring a vacuum arm that supports the regular picking of 20L paint tubs which can weigh up to 40 kg. With top shelves of 9m high in the hazardous chemical storage warehouse, three ATEX 3G Aisle-Master articulated lift trucks are also used.

“Flammable material is contained within tubs, tins and pales at H.W. Coates, so a flammable atmosphere is not expected, but it could happen,” says Rob Vesty, Sales Manager for Pyroban. “In these Zone 2 hazardous areas it is important that operators are not blind to the risks and are made aware when a potentially explosive atmosphere is present so that the cause of the flammable atmosphere can be investigated and rectified,”

Active gas detection systems are used on the lift trucks which play a vital role in significantly improving onsite safety. If any solvent vapour is detected at 10% LEL**** (propane in air), operators get a visual and audible warning prompting them to drive away from the area and raise an alert for investigation and clean up. If the vapour levels rise to 25% LEL the trucks will automatically be brought to a controlled stop preventing any potential explosions.

Pyroban’s system6000 combines the gas detection with various explosion protection methods including the modification of arcing, sparking and hot components. Restricted breathing enclosures were used to restrict the ingress of any flammable vapour where appropriate, hot surfaces are monitored, forks were clad with a non-sparking material and more. The vacuum arm was also converted as part of the overall ATEX compliance.

“Quality, compliance and sustaining the long-term relationship between Linde, Pyroban and H.W. Coates was critical,” says Dominic Lewis, Key Account Sales Manager from Linde. “The Linde trucks were built in Germany and France and converted at Pyroban’s UK factory receiving a single CE marking in time for the inauguration of the warehouse last year.”

It’s been trending for a while actually, but the global pandemic and associated ‘stay at home’ orders, plus restrictions on business operations and occupancy of brick-and-mortar establishments has accelerated it beyond even the most hardened analyst expectations – says Tony Dobson, SnapFulfil CEO for UK & Europe. “As much as e-commerce is a commercial opportunity for once traditional retail B2B businesses, they also face acute growing pains as they struggle to meet warehouse and fulfilment demands. That’s where third party logistics (3PL) companies have an opportunity to seize the day.

“For 3PLs they are also having to adapt their operations and models to meet the ‘new world’ customer requirements that are often difficult to systematically accommodate, such as gift experience, low-mix/high volume, size, weight and packaging requirements, high mix/low volume, increased service and delivery levels, to name but a few. This makes it hard to perform efficiently while also maintaining the proper inventory visibility and accuracy needed.

“Most challenging though is having to qualify internal limitations or present an unattractive price in order to cover the transactional cost to the 3PL. SnapFulfil has been working increasingly with 3PL partners to provide a scalable, easily configured, API friendly and robust pathway to meet the demands of B2C multichannel fulfilment operations. Advanced cloud-based WMS offers best-of-breed billing software, flexible and easy specific workflows and processes to meet individual customer needs, multiple picking/packing approaches to ensure the application can support efficient approaches in structuring and prioritising work, plus an information-rich portal offering enhanced visibility.

“This all combines to provide a very fitting answer to a very complex question: How do I gain the ability to satisfy a variety of customers with differing requirements, without incurring custom coding costs and delays for every new client? We bring a base-feature set tailored to your challenges that is highly configurable – even by your own team, after training – to support everything from new customer onboarding to changes they may need in their processes. We’ve also standardised our interfaces to support easily understood and accomplished integrations and come to the table with a library of existing applications to help ease your technical sales processes.”

AR Racking has installed the adjustable pallet racking system in the new facilities of Vector Motor Control Ibérica S.L. (VMC), now located in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda (Barcelona).

VMC, a company specialising in technology for automation and industrial control, has decided to move its main work centre to a new 3,414 m² warehouse on an 8,010 m² site as part of its strategic growth. “We now have a more efficient and competitive warehouse adapted to current needs thanks, among other things, to the solutions provided by AR Racking,” explained Lucía Montoya, Head of Operations and Purchasing at VMC. She added, “the change, provided for within the company’s expansion plan, will allow us to improve our operations and offer a better service to our customers.”

The new work centre has both offices and a warehouse in which AR PAL adjustable pallet racking systems have been installed, allowing direct and immediate access to loads. 180 picking levels have also been added. “The adjustable pallet racking system is an effective and versatile logistics proposal with simple regulation of the load levels that is adapted to any type of load regardless of its volume or weight”, commented Joan Cerrato, project manager and sales executive for the North-East region at AR Racking.

AR Racking has installed the adjustable pallet racking system in the new facilities of Vector Motor Control Ibérica S.L. (VMC), now located in Santa Perpètua de Mogoda (Barcelona).

VMC, a company specialising in technology for automation and industrial control, has decided to move its main work centre to a new 3,414 m² warehouse on an 8,010 m² site as part of its strategic growth. “We now have a more efficient and competitive warehouse adapted to current needs thanks, among other things, to the solutions provided by AR Racking,” explained Lucía Montoya, Head of Operations and Purchasing at VMC. She added, “the change, provided for within the company’s expansion plan, will allow us to improve our operations and offer a better service to our customers.”

The new work centre has both offices and a warehouse in which AR PAL adjustable pallet racking systems have been installed, allowing direct and immediate access to loads. 180 picking levels have also been added. “The adjustable pallet racking system is an effective and versatile logistics proposal with simple regulation of the load levels that is adapted to any type of load regardless of its volume or weight”, commented Joan Cerrato, project manager and sales executive for the North-East region at AR Racking.