Stertil has restored 27 loading bays at a disused distribution centre in Bristol that has recently been acquired by Morrisons. The supermarket chain took on the site, which had stood idle for several years, to provide distribution to some of its store network.
Having provided the original loading bay equipment at the site more than 20 years ago, Stertil was asked to visit and survey the depot. The project had an ambitious time scale and Stertil committed to a six-week delivery schedule, plus four weeks for installation, including the removal of all existing equipment.
Planned to operate 24/7, Morrisons was keen to get the site up and running as soon as possible. As the original supplier, Stertil was the obvious choice to take on the project, as the company was able to supply dock levellers to match the existing pits without modifications.
The successful completion of this project within the required time scale means Stertil has now undertaken two site installations for Morrisons. The quick turnaround of the Bristol depot project was impressive for a job of such a size: 27 sets of equipment were supplied for the loading bays, as well as a Thermadoor sectional overhead door for access from the outside service yard.
The HP600 dock levellers, each with a capacity of 6000kg single axle load, were made to fit the existing pits. Alongside these, Stertil provided 24 Thermadoors of varying sizes plus, for each of the 27 loading bays, collapsible-frame dock shelters with steel frames, polyethylene high-impact dock buffers, dock lights and high visibility traffic lights and composite control panels. These control panels are specially designed to sequence and interlock all the components together in a single place, with the minimum of buttons.
Stertil was very satisfied with the smooth progress of the project, enabling the job to be finished well within the client’s required time scale: “It’s fair to say that the loading bay area has been transformed,” says Mike Bunn of Stertil. “It was a major bonus to us that we were able to fit new dock levellers into existing pits without having to modify them, but we still had to clear the site of the existing equipment and prepare it for the new kit. So it meant we were really working to a very tight deadline for such a big installation.”
Based in Northampton, Stertil is a market leader in the development and production of loading bays and dock equipment. The company manufactures inflatable and curtain shelters and dockseals; wheel guides; mobile yard ramps; dock bumpers and vehicle restraint systems, as well as both mechanically- and hydraulically-operated dock levellers.