Our 3pl division Europa Warehouse has partnered with Linde Material Handling UK (Linde MH UK) to supply materials handling equipment (MHE) at its new £60m state-of-the-art 3pl warehouse in Corby, Northants.
Europa Worldwide Group is an ambitious independent logistics operator and Europa Warehouse is its specialist 3PL warehousing and logistics division.
On Schedule
Despite the impact of Covid-19 and a huge number of obstacles which this presented, Europa’s construction team has managed to drive through the project on schedule.
The new site at Midlands Logistics Park will become Europa’s largest facility in the UK and is specified to the highest standard. Corby will double Europa Warehouse’s logistics portfolio and is being constructed to a high-quality institutional specification, including above market standard 18 metre heights to facilitate three floors of mezzanines.
Using the Latest Technology
The Corby warehouse comprises 715,000 ft² dedicated to logistics, on a 25-acre site. To maximise the height of the building, racking is built to nine levels and utilises the very latest VNA technology supplied by Linde Material Handling UK.
Value Added Services
Europa Warehouse provides a range of value-added capabilities including e-commerce fulfilment, production services, inventory management, packing, labelling, special deliveries, final assembly, quality control and critical parts management. Europa also has a fully compliant contact centre, offering an extensive range of outsourced customer support by phone and digital platforms. It already supports a wide range of leading blue-chip clients and this new Corby facility will enable it to enhance its services significantly.
Linde MH UK joined Europa on the project in August 2019 and together created a dedicated project team of five core staff from Linde – VNA support – Pallet Racking Design – Simulation – Commercial – Service to support Europa ensuring that all aspects of the design requirements where addressed.
Pallet Racking Spaces
In addition to the racking, Linde MH UK is supplying the sprinkler system, labels, barriers, safety mirrors and site management. The 78 miles of pallet racking spaces are in Europa corporate colours giving an added final touch.
Linde MH UK devised a detailed MHE materials flow study using STRATOS, asimulation programme to confirm the number of MHE required for each phase of installation.
VNA trucks will be used to access the top locations and the reach trucks up to around 11500mm. As additional storage is required the wide aisles will be infilled giving the additional storage. The project provides overall capacity of 97,000 locations.
Europa is also using Linde MH UK’s Navman navigation system which will interlink with Europa’s WMS system directly into the truck assisting the operator to achieve maximum pallet movements. Linde MH UK is also suppling the counterbalance and ride on powered pallet trucks with an initial fleet of 27 units.
Sustainable Trucks
Europa was particularly attracted by Linde MH UK’s lithium-ion trucks. The advantage being that battery changing is not required so reducing down time in the operation, saving labour cost. In addition, the lithium-ion trucks contribute to improved sustainability as they generate lower levels of CO2 than forklifts with lead-acid batteries and diesel drives.
Mike Hawkins, Head of Linde Logistics Solutions at Linde MH UK “I am very proud in the work the team has undertaken. This installation has been most challenging as we were due to start the racking installation on the day the UK was put into lockdown due to Covid-19. Working with all our partners, the Linde HSE team and the customer, risk and installation method statements have been reworked to ensure compliance with the Government guidelines. With new working practices in place the installation is heading towards completion. I really do look forward to seeing the completed project.”
Midlands Logistics Park in Corby has already created 2,200 local jobs since 2015. Built on the site of a former British Steel quarry and latterly Stanion Plantation, Midlands Logistics Park covers 150 acres. Corby is an established and strategic industrial and distribution location in the heart of the East Midlands, and benefits from excellent connectivity due to recent road network upgrades.
Europa Worldwide Group is an ambitious independent logistics operator with six divisions – Europa Road, Europa Air & Sea, Europa Showfreight, Europa Warehouse, Europa Contact Centre and Continental Cargo Carriers. Europa was recently featured in The Sunday Times Top Track 250 for the second time.
