Sector Focus: Handling & Storage | 63
SUMMARY
■Efficient use of space is key to PGR Builders & Timber Merchants
■It developed a new timber warehouse at its Basildon depot
■Filstorage was involved in the early design phase of the scheme
■An integral part of the process was ensuring easy forklift access
SPACE SAVERS Filstorage has helped fast growing merchant PGR to optimise its space
Optimising storage space in timber yards and warehouses is becoming increasingly important for merchants wanting to find efficiencies in how their businesses are run. Although there are a range of solutions that can be retro fitted to maximise available space, unsurprisingly, the best time to factor this in is during the design phase of a new build.
This was the approach taken by fast- growing business PGR Builders & Timber Merchant when developing a new timber warehouse at its depot in Denbigh Road, Basildon.
The 4,650ft2 warehouse stands on the site
of the depot’s former yard and has been created as a state-of-the-art indoor storage facility for the merchant’s comprehensive timber and prepared wood range. To ensure space in the warehouse was maximised, PGR called in Yorkshire business Filstorage in the early design phase of the scheme.
The two businesses have worked together for nearly a decade, with the design and fit-out specialist having played a role in launching new depots or refurbishing existing ones for PGR in Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Chelmsford, Egham, Harold Hill, Maldon, Rayleigh, Romford, and Southend. Paul Massenhove, operations director at PGR Builders & Timber Merchant, said an integral part of the process was ensuring easy forklift access to all parts of the warehouse. “Filstorage was involved from the start, creating the design and layout to maximise the space available. It also supplied and fitted the racking.
“It installed cantilever racking for the plywood and sawn carcassing timber and A-frame racking for prepared wood and mouldings.
“The eaves on the building are 9m and we store timber five packs high. As a result, we
use extendable forklifts that can lift product up to 6m.
“The designs had to facilitate easy forklift access to all areas of the warehouse so product can be stored and retrieved quickly. “This brings real efficiencies to the depot and reduces the possibility of a forklift hitting the racking and damaging it, so saves time and money on repairs.”
But it’s not just in new builds that space can be optimised. According to Graham Matthews, Filstorage regional account manager for the south- east, when it comes to finding extra storage capability, timber merchants often find themselves looking to the gods. This proved to be the case in another of PGR’s depot, at Egham in Surrey, where creating usable space above the timber racking proved an effective solution. The business installed pigeonhole racking with a floor and large pallet gate to open up the top half of the warehouse for storage of light side products that were taking up valuable space elsewhere.
“The warehouse at Egham is 8.5m high but the timber racking doesn’t go above 4m, so there was quite a bit of space to be reclaimed,” said Mr Matthews. “Pigeonhole racking is one of the most effective ways to do this, as is mezzanine flooring. Installing either of these is an efficient way of adding a significant amount of storage space to a building, and they are certainly far cheaper and less disruptive than moving.
“I think the pigeonhole racking opened up around 40m2
of entirely new space.”
Paul Massenhove added that with growth firmly on the agenda, efficient use of space was key to PGR Builders & Timber Merchants. “Design, for us, is about optimising the space we have as this impacts on every aspect of the business,” he said.
“If product can be stored, located, and retrieved quickly, we sell more, damage less and keep our customers happier.” With a range of innovative solutions now on the market, from different types of racking to mezzanine floors and other space-creating platforms, Mr Matthews added that realising new timber storage had never been easier.
“It is very rare that we can’t unlock more space in an existing warehouse, unless we did the original design,” he said. “In that case, we sometimes struggle.
“But with new products coming out all the time, even then we can usually find those all-important extra few square metres that help to bring real world efficiencies to a merchant.” ■
Above: Cantilever racking at PGR Builders & Timber Merchant
www.ttjonline.com | July/August 2022 | TTJ
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85
