Jungheinrich UK has supported Trago Mills in the development of a huge new retail and leisure store that opened in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, on Saturday 21stApril. The new £65 million megastore from the South West’s original discount retailer has more than 200,000 square feet of retail space, plus warehousing, including 38 departments and more than 200,000 products.
Following a detailed survey of the site and consultation with Trago Mills, a wide aisle racking and reach truck solution was deployed within its warehouses for maximum flexibility handling the huge product range. To service the extensive racking system throughout, three reach trucks have been provided with mast heights of eight metres, complete with video camera systems for increased visibility of the surrounding area.
The fleet amounts to 17 trucks overall, also including: six man-up order pickers; two pedestrian pallet trucks; two hydrostatic counterbalance trucks; one stand-on pallet truck; and one electric stacker truck. To the carpet warehouse, bespoke racking was also fitted, serviced by an indoor/outdoor reach truck with a carriage mounted boom attachment; while on the shop floor, a low-level order picker transports product via the store’s 400 metre long service corridor.
The manually operated trucks were selected as part of a commitment to local strategic aims for economic regeneration. A total of 350 staff have been recruited by Trago Mills Merthyr Tydfil; for the 24 forklift truck operators, an intensive training programme to accommodate all levels of experience was provided by Jungheinrich UK at its dedicated Customer Service Centre in Bristol.
Brent Pinhay, Managing Director, Trago Mills, comments: “We first started working with Jungheinrich when we opted for a Dresden refurbished truck for our Newton Abbot store. We were impressed with the level of service and product quality and so, on learning that Jungheinrich can offer complete intralogistics solutions, we were keen to speak with them about our racking and material handling requirements for the new Merthyr Tydfil site. There has been a lot of ground to cover, and Jungheinrich has worked closely and consultatively with us every step of the way to ensure a solution that meets our exact requirements.”
Steve Richmond, Director – Logistics Systems, Jungheinrich UK, concludes: “To account for the unique size, scale and product offering of the Merthyr Tydfil site, Trago Mills required a complete storage and material handling solution that was cost-effective, efficient and bespoke. As a provider of end-to-end intralogistics solutions, Jungheinrich could offer Trago Mills a one stop shop for completely tailored solutions, working consultatively with the team to meet the exact requirements of this extraordinary store.”
Trago Merthyr Tydfil was officially opened on 21stApril by Bruce Robertson, Chairman, Trago Mills, and celebrity guest, former Welsh rugby international, Jonathan Davies OBE.
