Russells completes latest phase at Yearsley Logistics

Yearsley Logistics’ Heywood superhub

Finished scheme adds 50,000 sq ft to Heywood superhub

An improving economy and greater customer demand for space has seen frozen food specialist Yearsley Logistics expand again. Russells Construction has completed work to bring online an additional 50,000 sq ft of space at the firm’s Heywood headquarters.

The Trafford-based contractor laid the super-insulated floor slab to complete the cold store, which operates at minus 22 degrees, and enable its use as the second part of a three-phase project. The shell of the 100,000 sq ft building was constructed last year as part of a major £20m investment in infrastructure by Yearsley Logistics, the UK’s leading cold storage provider. Half was initially fitted out for use and now the second half is being completed and fitted out with Power Automated Systems state-of-the-art automated racking.

The new facility adds another 12,000 pallet spaces to Yearsley Logistics capacity at Heywood, taking the site’s total to 60,000 pallet spaces over approx 300,000 sq ft. The firm has need for the space due to additional storage requirements of existing customers.

Harry Yearsley, managing director of Yearsley Logistics, said: “We invested throughout the recession in our infrastructure to make sure we were ready for the future requirements of our customers, and will continue to do so. The improvements in the economy are evident in the increase demand for capacity from customers in the cold storage market, requiring the completion and fit out of this additional facility at our Heywood headquarters. Russells Construction has been an important partner for Yearsley Logistics in helping us to improve our facilities nationwide and create the northern superhub which, at 60,000 pallet spaces, is the largest in our national network of cold stores.”

Completion of the remaining third phase of expansion, which would add a further 50,000 sq ft of capacity, will be driven by further customer demand. Yearsley Logistics has a network of 13 cold stores across the country with Heywoodthe firm’s head office.

Andrew Russell, director of Russells Construction, added: “We have been working with Yearsley Logistics for a number of years on the new construction and fit out programmes for its property assets across the country, so have a proven methodology for swift and efficient delivery of new schemes. As ever, customer demand meant this project had a tight timescale which was achieved to enable the company to bring the new facility on line as quickly as possible.”