Construction of a £5 million raw materials warehouse with 4,000 pallet spaces is underway at Fuchs Lubricants’ base in Staffordshire (www.fuchs.com).

The warehouse, in Stoke-on-Trent, is the latest step in a £10 million investment programme at Fuchs UK, the UK arm of ‘the world’s largest independent lubricants manufacturer’.

Building work began in August; the framework structure and roof have been completed, and the external cladding is well underway.

The automated high-bay warehouse is due for completion in the second quarter of 2020 and will significantly increase the amount of raw materials the business can store on-site.

It will also allow an existing building to become a specialist packaging warehouse.

Mark Gray, Fuchs UK head of operations, said: “We have an ambition to place Fuchs Lubricants at the forefront of R&D, manufacturing and distribution of lubricants in the UK.

This raw materials warehouse represents a significant investment for the business, and a further step towards that goal. It includes advanced automation that will future-proof the business and create cost-saving benefits.”

Two wire guided driverless Very Narrow Aisle trucks will operate in the warehouse, offering high speeds for both travel and lift — without operator intervention.

The warehouse will also have the ability for automatic or manual storage place allocation.

High-tech warehouse control and warehouse management systems will streamline processes, with benefits including goods receipt entry and booking, a paperless put-away process, inventory support and batch traceability.