Challenge

Great Bear Distribution approached Westgate Global to provide a permanent partition for a large, newly constructed distribution centre in Markham Vale. The partition was to be used to create a temperature controlled area for the safe storage and handling of pharmaceutical goods.

The partition needed to be ‘one hour’ fire-rated, and ensure that insurance requirements were met for the storage of these products.

Great Bear is responsible for the operation of more than five million square feet of warehousing space in the UK and this was not the first time that the company had called upon the expertise of Westgate Global and its Flexiwall solution.

Solution

Flexiwall®, manufactured in FP560 glass cloth fabric and coated in silicon, was ideal for creating the required partition for the high bay warehouse; this provided and passed the ‘one hour’ fire rating requirements needed for the insurance.

Flexiwall consists of a number of bespoke designed panels, which fit the profile of any building; this was essential for creating an enclosure within the existing space. The final system has a footprint that is only millimetres deep, ensuring it can be installed in tight spaces - including between racking within a distribution centre.

The final complete partition in the Markham Vale distribution centre was 23m high and 138m wide.

The task of creating a partition for the Markham Vale distribution centre was designed to be carried out in two separate phases to ensure access to one end of the area, so that the air conditioning and racking could continue being installed.

Benefits of Flexiwall

Flexiwall offers flexibility should the needs of the space change in the future, whether that be reducing, enlarging or relocating it, as solutions can be taken down, remanufactured as required and reinstalled, making Flexiwall a safe investment for unpredictable changes.

Among the benefits of the Flexiwall solution is the fact that it is clean to install, therefore reducing business downtime. It also results in considerably less mess and dust during the period of installation than is generally the case with other options, such as masonry partitions or timber stud.