Prefab and 3D as standard for 'excellent' plant engineering

Online supermarket Picnic is establishing a fully automated 'fulfillment center' at Hessenpoort business park in Zwolle (floor area: over 45,000 square meters). Batenburg Installatietechniek is providing all the mechanical, electrical and control installations for the new distribution center, in cooperation with Bouwbedrijf Aan de Stegge Twello. Prefab and 3D BIM play an important role in the realization process, says project leader Frank Oostewechel.

The project was contracted by Batenburg Installatietechniek according to specifications and completed by the end of 2022. Picnic is the first supermarket to operate entirely online. The building on Steinfurtstraat in Zwolle is divided into two parts that are constructively separated from each other. On the right side, an office juts out of the end wall as an accent. The warehouse is air-conditioned using air heat pumps, supported by indirectly fired air heaters. In conjunction with this, the Batenburg Energy Container was installed at the new fulfillment center. "The Batenburg Energy Container is a space-saving solution and is delivered and assembled completely plug-and-play. It is a pre-fabricated technical space on the roof, completely tailored to the discharge systems used and desired outputs," says Oostewechel.

Proprietary rail duct system

"In addition, we use an in-house developed rail duct system. As for the pipes for the underfloor heating, we use ERIKS Blue Pipe plastic pipes, installed by our partner RILOH. The VRF system for heating and cooling the offices comes from Mitsubishi Electric. We also provide the plumbing, intelligent building control, data systems and site lighting with smart options, plus the charging station systems." The process engineering for tenant distribution (with robotic carts; ed.) is provided by another party, all under BREEAM 'Excellent'. "Early design and engineering in 3D BIM ensures that there are few clashes with other parties and that we can organize the realization process efficiently. We use innovative prefabricated systems as much as possible, from Batenburg itself or from other parties."