Off the gas in just three days

All-electric preservation of indoor climate system while store remains open

Action's ambition is to have all its stores completely off gas by the end of 2024. To make this possible, the non-food discount store chain is working with expert parties such as BLR-Bimon. The Montfoort-based expert in climate control preserves an average of one Action store per week, without having to close the store doors to do so. Last year, the first 25 existing stores were taken off the gas and 35 more are planned for next year. New Action stores have already been built gas-free since 2016.

The relationship between Action and BLR-Bimon dates back to 2017; the year in which BLR-Bimon won a tender for the service and maintenance of the climate systems in approximately 500 Action stores in the Benelux. "For the Belgian stores, we worked with a Belgian partner. Since two years, however, we have been performing all work in the Netherlands (now more than 400 stores) under our own management," says Wim Birkhoff, Service Manager at BLR-Bimon. "A team of service technicians performs all legal checks once a year, for example with regard to the F-gases regulations. They also clean the equipment and maintain the central heating boilers, while our service technicians pick up malfunctions. Last year we resolved 830 reports, which amounts to an average of two reports per branch per year. These can be either plant or plumbing malfunctions. Work that we also continue to perform in the all-electric stores."

Gasless preservation

In 2020, BLR-Bimon was also asked to take on some new construction projects. "These new construction projects have been all-electric since 2016," said René Jansen, Project Manager at BLR-Bimon. "A year ago, gasless sustainability was added to this. Because of the size of this assignment and to keep the speed in the sustainability, this now has our full focus. We received a whole list of stores that needed to be addressed before 2024. A number of these stores had defective central heating boilers or delivery systems. These stores were given priority in the sustainability process." The sustainability process is proceeding at a very rapid pace, he says. "Currently, one store is being tackled every other week, replacing the gas-fired systems with a sustainable and future-proof alternative."

Specialized Action Teams

For each store, BLR-Bimon uses a turnaround time of three days. "To get this done in terms of planning and execution, we work with three specialized Action teams," said Jansen. "They are not only very familiar with the work, but also strong in customer communication. In fact, during the work, customers remain welcome as usual." The work invariably starts with closing and capping the gas valve, he says. "Then old and gas-fired central heating boilers, air curtains, radiators and heaters are dismantled." On the very first morning, the new Daikin or Mitsubishi systems are delivered, which are assembled by the afternoon. "For most of the stores, this involves two heat pump wall units for the offices and canteen, a cassette unit for the warehouse and a heat pump (DX) air curtain for the store. While installing the new transmission lines, we also permanently include the power cables for the electricians. This means that on the third day, they only have to connect the cables in the meter box. If toilets and kitchens are also replaced, we also take care of the plumbing."

Also for your stores?

"To organize both maintenance, service and replacement properly in terms of planning and logistics is not easy," emphasizes Birkhoff. "BLR-Bimon has specialized in this. The teams we put together for Action, we can also set up for other retailers. Our mechanics are used to working in open stores and carry out their work with as little inconvenience as possible. This has earned us a loyal customer base. We now perform maintenance and service for around 40 retail customers, with a total of 2,800 stores. In the coming years, we expect the number of preservation assignments to increase as well, because here, too, preservation is rising higher and higher on the agenda. Action is leading the way in this regard."