Altecnic Ltd, a leading provider of precision heating and plumbing components is investing £100,000 to create an international standard distribution centre at its headquarters in Staffordshire.

The company is further developing its warehouse facilities in response to increasing demand for efficient and effective supply chain solutions from major national distributors,.

Altecnic employs 90 people at the facility and adjoining offices, which cover 70,000 square feet of land in Stafford. In the warehouse, which serves installers, plumbers, specifiers and trade counters across the UK and Ireland, an advanced barcode system has been installed that identifies each unique location within the facility. This allows multiple orders to be amalgamated and picked from one area for several discrete picking lists. These items are then returned to a central area for second stage picking and order collation; greatly reducing movements within the warehouse, increasing productivity and improving stock control.

The company has also introduced energy-efficient materials handling equipment, including a mixed fleet of high-level order pickers and reach trucks, supplemented by LPG counterbalance units to ensure fast, safe picking. The majority of the fleet is electric, benefiting from both zero emissions and low running costs.

These initiatives offer customers improved picking accuracy and speed of delivery, ensuring that orders are delivered promptly and right first time.

Alan Sherwin, the company's Managing Director, said: 'Our customers nationwide rely on us to deliver what we say, when we say we will so that they can satisfy their own customers. Whether it is a single thermostatic radiator valve or a major resupply the result is the same high level of service. We have invested in making this a facility to be proud of, but the backbone is our dedicated team.'

Pictured right: Altecnic's state-of-the-art warehouse in Stafford