Work starts on £12m distribution centre extension for pharmaceutical group
North West construction specialist, Russell WBHO, has started work on a £12m distribution centre in Doncaster.
The company is delivering the facility for Salford-based pharmaceutical wholesaler and distributor Mawdsleys.
The extension project will double the size of the firm’s existing temperature-controlled storage and distribution facility at Redhouse.
The 152,000 sq ft portal frame warehouse unit will comprise a 146,238 sq ft temperature-controlled chamber, with 12 loading docks to 12.5m to eaves, internal racking with in-rack sprinkler system, and a 4,542 sq ft office space.
Russell WBHO will also complete a new external service yard and rear access road at the site off Rockingham Way.
The Trafford-based construction firm is responsible for the full construction and fit-out of the building and storage chamber, which will operate at a controlled internal temperature to store supplies to the exacting standards of the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Mechanical and electrical specialists Heatworks is to design and install a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient heating, cooling and ventilation system to support two operating systems across the different parts of the building, to maximise employee comfort and energy-saving methods while also ensuring strict regulatory compliance.
The project’s professional team also includes project managers Beaumont Lord, architect AEW, structural engineer Booth King, Services Consultant ESC, health and safety specialists Pure Safety Solutions and environmental consultancy E3P.
The main contractor was selected for the build by Mawdsleys following a four-way competitive tender. The win was based on value, expertise, and a strong track record in the temperature-controlled sector which has seen the delivery of more than one million sq ft of cold stores over the past two decades.
Jonathan Rhodes, Russell WBHO project director, said: “We have commenced work on a major turnkey project for a new client Mawdsleys in Doncaster, a scheme which will double their storage and distribution capacity at the site.
“As temperature-controlled construction specialists, with more than 20 years’ experience in the sector, we can offer our clients a collaborative approach to best value, and combine the expertise of longstanding partners and suppliers to deliver a state-of-the-art facility to support their future growth plans.”
The 10 month project, which is set to be complete by the end of summer 2023, will double storage and distribution capacity at the Redhouse site to more than 48,000 pallets for Mawdsleys’ 3PL division, MPW.
Will Westall, director at Mawdsleys, said: “Investment by Mawdsleys Group Investments Limited in this new facility will extend our capacity to support existing and new clients in the UK’s growing pre-wholesale market, ensuring we can continue to meet their ongoing requirements as part of our growing third party logistics operation.
“We are pleased to appoint Russell WBHO, one of the foremost contractors in this sector. We’ve also been able to continue our valued relationship with Heatworks to deliver this important strategic development.”
Established in Salford in 1825, Mawdsleys has expanded across the country and internationally, and is now the UK’s largest independent pharmaceutical supplier to the UK hospital sector. The company operates its own fleet from distribution sites in, Salford, Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Glasgow and Doncaster.
