Pakhuis Noordland 12, Bergen op Zoom | Highest safety standard in the Netherlands

'The combination of concrete and steel makes more possible'

Mepavex built its twelfth and thirteenth distribution centers and its second and third storage facilities for packaged hazardous, chemical substances. The centers are unique to the Netherlands. By dividing the building into small compartments and securing the risks per compartment, distribution center Noordland 12 offers a safety standard that far exceeds the standard norm.

For the construction of distribution center Noordland 12, Mepavex Logistics partnered with total builder ASK Romein. The company built most of the Noordland warehouses and was therefore familiar with the high requirements for Mepavex Logistics' warehouses. Noordland 12 is intended for packed, chemical substances and built according to the PGS15 standard. Together, Noordland 12 and 13 offer some 44,000 m² of storage space and were ready for use within eleven months.

The loading area is additionally shielded with a partition wall.

Fast and complex

"Short construction time is more the rule than the exception these days," says Marcel Michielsen, General Manager of Construction at ASK Romein Roosendaal. "But this time we had to combine the short construction time with high technical safety requirements. To be sure that the warehouse will still be compliant in a few years' time, Mepavex Logistics opted for safety standards that are now well above the standard. That made the project fairly complex. We chose to combine concrete walls and columns with steel beams and girders."

Division into compartments

The building has four shipping areas with eight storage cells each. The cells and shipping areas are all separate 60-minute fire compartments. The loading area is additionally shielded with a partition wall, giving each dock two 60-minute fire-resistant overhead doors. In the cells and shipping area, there is more than two kilometers of flame-extinguishing floor gutter in liquid-proof floors. These ensure that any extinguishing water - as well as (burning) products - are drained in a controlled manner to one of the 48 storage cellars and cannot harm the environment. To extinguish all stored substances, the building is equipped with a traditional sprinkler system and gas extinguishing system.

Noordland 12 and 13 together offer some 44,000 square meters of storage space and were ready for use within 11 months.

Responsible and within budget

"Mepavex Logistics is a progressive company and acts in a socially responsible way," Michielsen knows. "For example, they have chosen to install liquid thresholds under the entrance doors. In case of spills or fire extinguishing, there is one sealed drip tray into which the fire extinguishing water ends up, so there is no damage to the environment. It was a nice challenge for us to think of all these features responsibly and to realize them efficiently and within budget."

Everything under one roof

"ASK Romein has everything in-house," Michielsen continues, "and with this kind of complex challenge you reap the benefits of that. Our architects, designers, structural engineers and draftsmen constantly exchange ideas, share their expertise and join forces. We even took care of the permit process, the testing against the PGS15 standard, the Building Code and the aftercare for the customer. Only for the fire resistance at Noordland 12 did we call in an external specialist. This joining of forces offers us - but also our customer - great advantages."