Distribution centre fitting outsourced

Respironics, sleep and respiratory provider, chose Spaceway South to fit out its distribution centre, which included offices and warehouse space with a range of racking and shelving.

Respironics' distribution centre in Tangmere, Chichester not only provides the company with additional space for its expanding product range but also includes functional office accommodation for its warehouse and despatch personnel.

Fitted out by Romsey-based Spaceway Group following a competitive tender, the 45,000 square foot distribution centre provides Respironics with a well-designed and efficient infrastructure to respond quickly to customer demand.

Part of Respironics 90,000 sq ft purpose built UK headquarters, the move to Chichester follows the acquisition of Profile Therapeutics (Profile) in 2004.

The facility will enable Respironics, the leading provider of innovative solutions for the global sleep and respiratory markets, to expand its presence in key markets and enhance the breadth of services and products offered to customers.

"We went out to tender looking for a company that could not only provide us with a competitive price but also produce innovative designs, fast response times, attention to detail and bring in the project on time and on budget", says Alan Turner, Facilities Manager at Respironics.

"Spaceway fulfilled all these criteria".

Spaceway's design team prepared detailed CAD drawings to maximise the space available and provide Respironics with a streamlined system to handle products.

This included the installation of a FlooritallO mezzanine floor to provide the support for the office construction.

The offices were constructed using the latest steel faced industrial partitioning and ceilings and finished with floor coverings, recessed modular light fittings and skirting trunking for telecoms and computer outlets.

To accommodate a range of pallet sizes and fast and slower moving product lines, Spaceway decked all levels and installed a range of racking and shelving.

High bay pallet racking was installed to create in excess of 2000 pallet locations and to enable Respironics to store a variety of pallet sizes.

The picking area was fitted out to accommodate 2,400 locations with Longspan racking used for the slower moving products and carton live racking for faster moving lines.

Existing push back racking was dismantled and then reinstalled in the new premises and mesh partitioning installed around the perimeter edge as an additional pedestrian safety feature.

An integral conveyor system was built into the design to transport the picked items to the packaging and despatch area.

Anti-collapse mesh was fitted to the pallet racking in areas where there is extensive pedestrian activity as an additional safety feature.

"The project went extremely well", concluded Alan Turner.

"Everything has been designed to meet the latest Building Regulations and was skilfully carried out by the Spaceway management team".

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