Along with the rapid growth of the warehouse market, the share of BTS projects—that is, custom-built facilities—is also increasing in the sector. Karol Górnicki, Leasing Director for Emerging Markets at 7R, explains who benefits most from this “haute couture” approach.
What makes a project a BTS?
Karol Górnicki, Leasing Director for Emerging Markets at 7R: A BTS project is a highly specialized undertaking that arises when a client has personalized and clearly defined expectations. The decision to develop a BTS warehouse is made when the client realizes that none of the projects available on the market provide the appropriate specifications or elements necessary to conduct operations. A specific location may also be one of the key factors. In standard projects, however, developers focus on the universal needs of a given group of tenants.
What do BTS tenants pay particular attention to?
Requirements vary depending on the type of business the tenant operates. For example, location was a key factor for Velvet Care—specifically, a location that would be a suitable distance from the company’s production facility. The same was true for BWI, although in this case a prestigious location near the airport was required, and that proved to be the deciding factor.
Another key criterion may be access to the required amount of electricity when dealing with a manufacturing client. For 7R, Valeo Siemens eAutomotive in Czechowice-Dziedzice was such a client. In this case, we were looking for a location with access to nearly 12.5 MW, and there aren’t many such sites in the Bielsko-Biała area.
What about custom solutions within the facilities themselves?
Custom solutions depend on the nature of a client’s business and the processes they carry out. These will differ for manufacturing versus e-commerce. We also build facilities requiring special storage conditions for products such as tires or alcoholic beverages. It is not uncommon for the capital expenditures associated with adapting the facility to the client’s technology to exceed the value of the building itself; in such cases, the decision is made to build a customized project. This may also include social or office space required for the tenant’s operations, which exceeds the market average of 5–7 percent of the warehouse area.
Automation is rapidly making its way into warehouses. How does this affect project implementation?
We are seeing an increasing number of projects in which clients are seeking facilities taller than standard ones, precisely because of the automation of warehouse processes. This applies primarily to companies in the e-commerce sector that use multi-level mezzanines, known as “pick towers,” for storage and order-picking processes. The rationale behind this choice is simple: the taller the mezzanines, the greater the savings they generate.
We are currently constructing a four-level mezzanine at 7R, standing 12.2 meters tall. However, our portfolio also includes an automated high-bay warehouse being built for Żabka, which is a full 40 meters tall. In this case, in addition to technical specifications tailored to the client’s needs, we also required a plot of land with a zoning plan permitting the construction of such a tall structure.
Is it really the case that the highest level of automation is currently found in buildings occupied by e-commerce companies?
Not only that, but projects for this sector are indeed among the most interesting. Among them was a BTS facility located in a logistics park. Interestingly, in the initial phase, it was supposed to be a multi-tenant project (a facility leased by several companies), but the client ultimately opted for a BTS facility with room for expansion. In addition to the aforementioned mezzanine, which is used for order picking, a miniload system—an automated storage system for small loads—was also implemented there. In this case, instead of forklifts, stacker cranes move between the racks, automatically retrieving goods ordered by the order management system operator. The goods are then fed onto a conveyor and transported to the order picking zone, and in the final step, transferred to distribution. We completed a similar BTS project for WearCo, the owner of the Answear.com brand, a leader among online fashion retailers.
Another particularly interesting project is the facility built for the Hultafors Group. It is the first facility in Poland under a lease agreement to utilize the AutoStore system. This is an automated order-picking platform operated at the highest level by robots that work around the clock. This system not only ensures tremendous efficiency but also energy savings.
Selected custom solutions used in warehouses:
- laboratory spaces that meet the client's specified parameters, such as temperature and humidity
- chilled water
- Increasing the floor's load-bearing capacity to 7 tons per square meter and improving its flatness to allow for the installation of induction loops for system trolleys
- dock air curtains
- AutoStore automated storage system
- Fire protection according to FM Global – extinguishing fires using specialized water cannons that locate the source of the fire through optical detection
- tanks, fire-resistant compartments for storing liquids and explosives, equipped with explosion-proof ventilation systems
- trigeneration
- electric vehicle charging stations
- invisible fence (fence-mounted alarm system)
