Lineage Logistics recently completed the expansion of its Heywood Northern Superhub, making Manchester home to the United Kingdom’s most advanced cold storage facility.
The upgraded warehouse will play a key role in UK food distribution and consume 75% less energy than the European average as it features the latest technologies that maximize warehouse space utilization, Lineage said.
The cold storage facility will provide storage for major food manufacturing, service, and retail brands, cementing Manchester’s role as a distribution hub for food products in the UK. Following the 12-month expansion, the facility will boast 425,000 square feet of space and a total of 78,000 pallets across the site on Hareshill Road. This is part of the three-phase expansion of Lineage’s original facility into a Northern Superhub, with prior phases adding 100,000 sq. ft. of space and 28,000 pallets. The expanded facility became operational during the summer.
“Recent months have seen the importance of the temperature-controlled sector in the economy highlighted and, as the country starts to re-open, we have seen demand rise to higher than pre-COVID levels,” said Tim Moran, Lineage’s regional vice president in the UK. “Lineage is continuing to meet customer demands with an ongoing national expansion program, both nationally and across Europe, and the timely completion of the final phase at Heywood is very welcome.”
The Heywood site links an innovative single-skin cold store to the traditional ‘box-in-box’ design, ensuring the integrity of the minus 30-degree temperature while maximizing the internal area and pallet space capacity. State-of-the-art materials and mechanical systems ensure that strict carbon reduction targets are met, the company said. With energy management systems in place, the new facility will provide Lineage with 75% operational energy cost savings compared to the average energy consumption of similar facilities in Europe.
A major focus of the upgraded facility is to ensure the integrity of the cold chain. During the construction, balance had to be struck between the conflicting priorities of temperature integrity, dehumidification, reduction in energy use, and seamless movement between chambers. To ensure food security, Lineage focused on temperature-controlled loading areas, insulation, fast-closing door seals, and the management of construction work alongside the existing operational chamber.
Lineage also is in the process of expanding its Southern Superhub near London. In total, the company will operate six automated warehouses with a total of 330,000 pallet positions, and the expansions will create more than 220 new jobs in the UK.
