Commercial diesel power and transmission distributor Mitchell Powersystems,have made Sutton their UK distribution hub, but were facing severe space constraints until they called in lightweight, rapid buildings specialist Smart Space.

With a new permanent canopy they have been able to create new warehouse space, enabling a building to be fully utilised.

Mitchell’s project manager Gene Laker explained: “Speedy delivery is a priority for our customers and we decided that we could provide a better service to them with a centralised distribution hub in Nottinghamshire rather than a network of regional depots.

“One of our existing buildings met most of our needs, but lacked adequate space for orders to be collated and for sheltered vehicle loading and unloading. Footings were already in place for an extension, but we feared that conventional construction would be costly, time consuming and highly disruptive.”

Smart Space have provided the company with a 20 by 25 metres open-ended, covered loading bay to the existing warehouse. This is a lightweigh permanent steel structure clad in ocean blue panels to match the existing building.

This allows vehicles to be loaded and unloaded under cover, provides additional outdoor storage but also releases space within the main facility for more efficient storage and stock management. In this case footings for a conventional extension were in place, enabling an exceptionally speedy build at a cost of just under £50,000.

Mr Laker said: “The installation went very well, the guys worked really hard to get it completed with little disruption to our operation. On-site time was less than one month. We are very pleased with the result.”