Nestled in between the port of Felixstowe and the motorway network just outside of Corby, SMD has played its part in doubling the capacity of an existing food warehouse, providing new storage space for 75,000 pallets of frozen goods, which services the supermarket sector.
The first phase of the facility was constructed using pre-cast planks, but the time and cost savings associated with a composite decking solution made it an obvious decision to swap construction methods.
Working for Billington Structures, SMD’s Southern Team has supplied and installed over 5,000m² of R51+ re-entrant deck and in excess of 20,000 thru-deck shear connectors.
The entire facility is controlled using and automated monorail system for picking goods from the racking, reducing the need for human interaction in the sub zero conditions. The warehouse is due to open in 2024 and once fully commissioned it will be Europe’s largest “deep freeze” facility, employing 250 people and handling more than 4 million pallets annually.
