Functional and future-proof floor design

At business park Kampershoek 2.0 in Weert, Heylen Warehouses is realizing a new distribution center. This is a special design, as the distribution center will be divided into two parts by a natural ribbon of over one hundred year old trees. As an in-house supplier, Van Berlo is providing the company floors, which, like the building itself, are functional and future-proof. 

The new distribution center consists of two buildings constructed in phases on a plot of more than 37 soccer fields. Both buildings are divided into five separate warehouses that can also be linked if necessary. The first building is now under construction. "We have already completed this phase and involves the realization of a total of 51,457 m2 of warehouse floors, 11,642 m2 of floors for the shipping area and 6,656 m2 of floors in the loading dock," says Area Sales Manager Frederik Crampe. His colleague and project manager Gregory Roelandt adds: "The warehouse floors are jointless as super-flat type VB Exa floors according to DIN 1585, while in the shipping area we applied the VB Hecta in a usual flatness, according to the Scientific and Technical Center for the Construction Industry (WTCB)."

Local floor reinforcements

Although Heylen Warehouses also has representation in the Netherlands, the originally Belgian company often applies Belgian standards, Crampe explains. "So that also means that it applies Belgian standards in terms of floor-specific requirements. In this case, those of the WTCB. We were asked to apply consequence class CC2. This means that we - our Van Berlo Engineering division - have to calculate with stricter safety factors. The building is more heavily dimensioned because of the intended flexibility towards the future. For example, standard provisions will be made to be able to realize an intermediate floor in the future, if necessary. This has resulted in the engineering and application of local floor reinforcements that can bear a point load of 390 kN." 

Induction

Van Berlo has already completed many hundreds of thousands of square meters of floors for Heylen Warehouses. "In all those floors, induction was installed by the forklift supplier," Crampe knows. "In each case, a top coverage of 40 millimeters on the top bar was taken into account. So, despite other reports in the market, that turns out to be sufficient to prevent induction interference. The proof is there. By the way, Heylen Warehouses always builds to the same standards. We are its largest floor subcontractor." 

"Van Berlo suits us, we have the same DNA," says Philippe Deschilder, CEO of Heylen Warehouses. "We are both 'doers' who always go for the best quality. Where Van Berlo really stands out is the in-house engineering department. We can always ask questions, both in the preparation process and during execution. Also, Van Berlo always comes up with good ideas from which we both reap the benefits."

In a time frame of only a few weeks, Van Berlo completed the floors in the first phase. "We were busy for a total of three weeks," says Roelandt. "In one of the five halls, we also built a freezer floor. Part two of this unique distribution center will follow in a later phase."