Brett Fulfils Warehouse Industry Demand

A continued rise in e-commerce with roughly a quarter of retail sales currently being made online, has meant the construction of more largescale distribution centres, capable of storing greater inventory to satisfy customer demand.

Brett Concrete has a successful track record in supplying material for large-scale warehouses, having previously delivered 15,500m3 of ready-mixed concrete for Amazon’s fulfilment centre at Tilbury, back in 2017 and recently supplied material for two very large distribution centres at Felixstowe and Dartford.

Felixstowe

Last August, Brett Aggregates were approached by TSL and Rockland Concrete, specifying aggregate material for the construction of a “mega” distribution shed in Felixstowe. Over 60kt of sand and gravel ballast, sub-base and granite was supplied from our Ipswich site, less than a mile away, for the floor of the building, a temporary concrete plant on site, as well as the required gravel and subbases for the main shed itself.

Felixstowe Mega Distribution Centre (Credit: Stephen Waller/Uniserve)

Dartford

Brett Concrete also supplied a large distribution centre in Dartford, this time totalling 450,000 sq. ft in size. With a backdrop of the Dartford Tunnel and replacing the former Littlebrook Power Station, this site was acquired this year by IKEA, who have signed a 15-year lease for the well-positioned location. Joining the nearby “Mega Shed” Amazon warehouse, the site’s strategic location is growing into one of the South East’s foremost logistical centres and as part of the development of the industrial park, developers have pledged almost a third of the total Littlebrook site for the creation of wildlife habitats and natural open spaces.

CGI concept plan of the distribution centre in Dartford (Credit: Berictoe/Tritax)

The Dartford distribution centre will serve the Swedish business’ stores across the South East and beyond. With these distribution centres being so large though, significant planning and coordination is required during their supply.

“We supplied 22,908m3 of concrete from our Northfleet depot for piling, external and internal floors,” explains Jay Jensen, Field Sales Manager at Brett Concrete. “The success of getting this completed in time for handover was due to a team effort from Operations, Production, Transport and Sales.”