One of our larger customers, a life sciences manufacturing company based in Massachusetts, recently worked with Abel Womack on a large relocation project. They needed a complete solution, including assistance in shutting down one facility and moving into a new, larger production facility 40 miles away.

It all started in their greater Boston, MA, location. The current facility had limited space and could not keep up with rising demands. The company’s lease expired. They decided that moving into a new location would give them more growth opportunities over the next 5-10 years.

The Relocation Process 

In order to facilitate a smooth transition from one location to another, the company worked closely with Abel Womack’s CAD Designer, Storage Solutions Supervisor, and Account Manager on several items. Dealing with just one provider who could handle everything within the warehouse, including equipment, layouts, design, project management, installation, and service support, maximized their operational efficiencies and ensured the project’s success. We addressed these and other items:

• CAD Drawings—There was no CAD drawing of the new facility. Abel Womack provided the drawings as a value-added service.
• Existing Racking—Should they take the uprights, beams, and wire decks of different sizes to the new location? Or should they try to make money selling them? Or do they get a team to tear it down and scrap it? In addition to racking, they had mobile storage, galvanized racking material, and multiple caging locations with racking.
• Forklifts—They had several Raymond forklifts, man-up machines, and pump jacks. Can they be used in the new facility layout?
• Staff—Luckily, many of them relocated to the new location.

Optimizing Space in the New Facility 

Our customer had 60-70k square feet of warehouse space to work with. They informed us they would need over 1,500 pallet positions to accommodate their existing inventory and future growth. As rack and storage experts, we got right to work.

Abel Womack’s Game Plan

After several team calls, we obtained the pallet sizes and weights, clear ceiling heights, and accurate drawing layouts and were off to customize a complete solution.

Our team provided them with:

• VNA (Very Narrow Aisle) solution, which allowed them to use their current VNA Raymond Swing Reach and increase pallet capacity
  

  Figure 1 – VNA Rack Layout

• Created 1,836 pallet positions with a new rack system
• 2 Roll-up doors for the new warehouse that would accommodate entering and exiting the new warehouse space
• Racking included uprights, beams, wire decks, end-of-row protectors to prevent rack damage, pallet stops, and netting to prevent possible injury from falling material. Abel Womack contacted a few top rack companies and determined the new facility’s best prices, lead times, and freight costs.
  

  Figure 2 – Drawing of rack pallet positions

  • CAD Layout—Our engineering team spent time onsite creating a building CAD layout
    

    Figure 3 – Drawing shows how many levels per bay location and weight capacity per beam.

• Wire Fence Enclosures—Caging that would secure specific material in designated areas
• Wire Guidance—A flexible and durable wire is embedded in the floor and sealed with epoxy. The wire is installed as a loop with a connection to the Line Driver, which sends a low-voltage RF frequency through this loop. A sensor mounted on the forklift guides it down the aisle for higher productivity and less rack damage.
• Pallet Rack Installation—Abel Womack’s team was onsite waiting with rental equipment to unload, stage, and install the rack on schedule as laid out during pre-installation meetings leading up to Day 1 of installation.
• Project Management—Our dedicated onsite team handles all questions and management from the General Contractor and other trades during installation so our customers can focus on their own operations.

The Outcome

The customer moved out of their Boston area location. They decided to save money by leaving the existing racking material in place for the next tenant to use. Abel Womack oversaw the project from the beginning to completion. All of their needs were accommodated internally without the assistance of third-party consultants or outside resources. Plus, our turnaround, response times, and support exceeded their expectations.

If you have any future projects, large or small, please let Abel Womack know how we can assist you. You’ll find complete solutions with just one phone call.