Tag: Distribution Centre

Active Ants, a subsidiary of the bpost group, will open its fifth fulfilment centre in September 2022. The newest facility is located in Northampton, England and is owned by M&G Real Estate, the property investment arm of M&G plc.

After operating two successful sites in the Netherlands, Active Ants has expanded into Belgium and Germany in recent years. “Active Ants wants to be the best fulfilment company in Europe”, says Co-founder and Managing Partner Jeroen Dekker. “We are delighted that our arrival in the UK will further increase our presence in Europe and we believe we are moving into one of the most exciting online markets.

“With our strong focus on innovation and automation, we offer tailor-made business-to-consumer (B2C) logistics for (SME) web shops. We are convinced that this will create superior value for our customers.”

Founded in 2010 with the idea of making e-fulfilment more accurate and efficient through innovation, automation and working with robots, Active Ants has since grown into one of the larger players in the Netherlands with over 250 customers and more than five million orders per year.

Northampton is situated in the heart of England. The Brackmills Industrial Estate is the centre of e-commerce logistics in the United Kingdom. Dekker comments: “This combination makes it the perfect location for our e-fulfilment activities. We will be close to our customers and have good connections with last-mile distributors.

“In our search for the right location and the right building, it was important for us to find a building that fulfilled our mission and values. The ‘outstanding’ BREEAM certification of the Brackmills Estate means that the building performs at the highest environmental level, which fits perfectly with our sustainable – and highly automated – way of working. Active Ants is committed to sustainable relationships with all its stakeholders: customers, employees and the community.”

Michael Wood, Portfolio Director at M&G Real Estate, comments: “With this scheme, M&G is delivering on its commitment to providing high quality, ESG-led schemes which meet the exacting requirements of modern occupiers, and we are delighted to be welcoming an innovative international operator with this significant pre-let.”

“Storage, order picking, packaging and sorting are also fully automated in this brand new fulfilment centre,” says Dekker. “For order picking, employees work efficiently together with robots. The receipt of goods and the return flow remain manual processes. This mechanisation ensures efficiency, high quality and a pleasant working environment for our employees. The set-up is unique in the world.”

Warehouse with AutoStore

The basis of this warehouse is the Autostore, a unique system where goods are stored very compactly in bins. On top of the AutoStore is a framework of rails, on which robots ride. By means of intelligent software, a robot knows exactly which bin to take to the employees at the picking stations. Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) bring empty boxes to the employee who fills them with goods delivered by the storage robots.

The innovative AutoStore solution takes up six times less space than in a traditional warehouse. This goods-to-man system has a very low footprint. The system stores up to six times more stock per square metre, and the robots reuse their own energy, so electrical consumption is minimal.

The carrier robots drive to various packing machines which select the ideal size boxes and close them to size – weighing them and providing a shipping label, so that no padding material is needed. As a result, Active Ants transports on average 40% less air to the customer. This also allows it to transport more packages in a truck and reduce its CO2 emissions even further.

Once filled, closed and printed, the carrier robots pick up the parcels and sort them out to their respective carriers.

Also in Northampton, Active Ants‘ specially developed box-closing machines with built-in printer will be used. Dekker says: ”This allows every customer to get their own custom-printed box. Through this unique functionality, we enable large, but now also smaller webshops, to offer customised packaging. Keeping pre-printed boxes in stock is no longer necessary. This saves our customers costs and also reduces their footprint.”

 

Prologis, one of the UK’s leading developers of logistics property, has agreed a 10-year lease for a new 131,780 sq ft unit, currently under construction at Prologis Park Hams Hall. Birmingham-based logistics and distribution company LTS Global Solutions will be moving into DC3, which is due for completion in the summer, as part of its ambitious expansion plans.

LTS Global Solutions, advised by Gerald Eve, provides a comprehensive range of services within logistics, transport and shipping worldwide. It is partnered with some of the world’s major shipping line and airlines to facilitate the provision of bespoke supply chain solutions which include storage, Just In Time delivery and international freight forwarding.

Like all new Prologis UK buildings, DC3 at Prologis Park Hams Hall will meet the highest standards of sustainability and is planned to meet net zero carbon emissions in construction. Additionally, the building will aim to be BREEAM ‘Excellent’ as well as achieving an EPC A rating.

Located only 10 miles from Birmingham City Centre and 1 mile from Junction 9 of the M42, Prologis Park Hams Hall is already home to Jaguar Land Rover’s Battery Assembly Centre and is often described as one of the leading manufacturing and logistics locations in the UK. The wider Hams Hall park also features an on-site rail freight terminal and is home to global brands such as BMW, Sainsburys and DHL.

Tom Price, capital deployment and leasing director at Prologis UK, commented: “Welcoming LTS Global Solutions as one of our newest customers is testament to the growing demand for prime logistics real estate space right now – and the business will certainly be in good company at Prologis Park Hams Hall.

“Dave and his team have growth in their sights and we’re extremely proud that we’ve been able to provide a high quality facility in a prime location that will allow the business’ expansion plans to come to life.”

Dave Hands, managing director at LTS Global Solutions, adds: “Moving into the new unit at Hams Hall signifies an exciting time for us. It’s been a pleasure working with the Prologis team and we can’t wait to move in and push on with our plans to expand our operations further.”

John Sambrooks, Partner for Gerald Eve, said: “The successful lease of Ham Hall illustrates the continued demand for well-located, high-spec industrial facilities. Its strategic location, combined with LTS Global Solutions’ track record of industrial supply chain solutions, makes this an attractive dynamic for the company’s significant expansion plans. We’re delighted to have secured the premises for LTS, and look forward to seeing the company grow over the coming years.”

 

Detailed planning consent has been granted for the construction of a new Grade A logistics facility at Prologis Park Midpoint in Minworth, on the outskirts of Birmingham, UK.

The plans include the demolition of an obsolete unit and the construction of a new “best in class” 163,000 sq ft building that will be rated BREEAM “excellent”, net zero carbon in construction and will deliver much needed logistics space to the West Midlands market.

Originally built for the supermarket giant Asda in 2016, the existing facility was too bespoke for wider market requirements. Repurposing the site to meet current market demands will provide additional space in a prime location. The development of DC6 will expand the park to over 1.6m sq ft, provide additional amenity space for the park, and enhance landscaping, as part of Prologis’ ParkLife initiatives.

Prologis Park Midpoint is one of Prologis’ most successful parks and is located only eight miles from central Birmingham. With access to 11 motorway junctions within five miles, the site provides vital accessibility for both national and urban distribution.

The application was unanimously approved and was welcomed by a number of consultees in adding both economic and social value to the local area.

James Hemstock, director in the capital deployment and leasing team at Prologis UK, said: “The redevelopment plans for DC6 Prologis Park Midpoint will bring a much-needed new lease of life to an under-utilised site and additional space to a starved market. We are looking forward to work getting underway early summer.

“We’re expecting to complete the building early 2023 and have already had a significant amount of interest from potential customers. We want this location to continue to develop and realise its full potential, for the benefit of businesses and households across the West Midlands.”

Global real estate firm Hines has announced the sale of the Royal Mail sorting warehouse in Edinburgh. The industrial building was acquired in 2019 by a fund sponsored by Hines and has been sold to ICG Real Estate for an undisclosed price.

The 215,745 sq ft mission-critical facility is located in Edinburgh’s Sighthill Industrial Estate adjacent to Hermiston Gait Retail Park. Approximately 700 staff are based at the facility with over 900,000 letters and 45,000 parcels handled there daily.

“Logistics remains a hugely important sector for Hines in the UK and Royal Mail’s sorting warehouse is a great example that we are not afraid to consider tactical sales while looking to redeploy capital into more accretive opportunities,” said Greg Cooper, Managing Director at Hines.

Chad Brown, Managing Director at ICG Real Estate commented: “We’re pleased to have acquired this well located and highly mission-critical asset. The investment underlines our ongoing belief in the logistics market’s robust occupational tailwinds with the firm eager to deploy further capital in the sector across Europe.”

ICG was advised by Knight Frank and Marchmont Investment Management.