Automatic high bay warehouses for top logistics performance

Companies and logistics players looking for an experienced and reliable construction partner for the construction of their new warehouses find in Alheembouw the combination of innovation, quality and sustainability. As well as a distinct specialization in the design, construction and finishing of automatic high-rise warehouses. Thanks, among other things, to some sixty engineering project managers who use their broad technical knowledge every day to realize professional building dreams.

With over five decades of building experience - because it was founded in 1970 - Alheembouw has grown from the West Flemish town of Oostnieuwkerke into a contractor-developer that can handle any building project, in any sector. Food, pharma, FMCG, manufacturing companies, schools ... you name it. "Our roots are in the vegetable and potato processing sector," says commercial director Sam Vansteenbrugge. "Since the early 1970s, we have made a name for ourselves in industrial construction, developing frozen warehouses and factory halls. Over the past decades we have also built up extensive experience in public-private partnerships, total projects, retail and DBFM projects (Design, Build, Finance and Maintain, n.v.d.r.)."

From initial construction sketch to turnkey delivery

Among the entire team of Alheembouw that is 210 employees strong, there is a clear vision: to achieve excellence in the construction industry through continuous innovation and delivering unparalleled quality. "We like challenging construction projects where we can demonstrate our added value," Sam said. As a construction partner with Class 8 Category D accreditation, we spare no expense for finished projects that rely on quality, safety and attention to sustainability. Our ISO 9001, ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 certificates are the best proof of this. When an entrepreneur knocks on our door, we can reassure him or her that a sketch is all we need to make the construction dream come true, down to the smallest detail. From plan to earthworks, and from construction to warehouse layout. That turnkey approach is one of our great strengths."

The advantages of a high-rise warehouse

Interestingly, demand for high-rise warehouses at the West Flanders construction partner continues to rise. According to Sam, this is no coincidence. "Automatic high-rise warehouses offer significant advantages over conventional storage areas. Thanks to their vertical design, you can stack up to forty meters high, which allows you to make optimal use of the available space and store more goods on a limited floor space. This high storage density also ensures high process speed and flexible transport and picking options, with faster order processing as an additional positive effect. From Alheembouw, we thus indirectly contribute to lower operational costs and a more efficient material flow, on the way to modern supply chain management."

Innovative construction projects in the spotlight

In the field of high-rise logistics projects, Alheembouw can already present more than fifty fine references. Sam puts three projects in the spotlight: "With Alheembouw, we handled the complete execution and coordination of Barry Callebaut's new fully automated high-rise warehouse in Lokeren, combined with ordinary storage and office space. The bar was high here, with the ambition of being the first Belgian warehouse of more than 50,000 square meters to achieve BREEAM Outstanding certification. For Dematra, we built the largest 2D shuttle warehouse in Belgium, with a stacking warehouse of 9,000 square meters and a 46-meter highbay warehouse with almost 80,000 pallet spaces. And in Zeebrugge, ECS, a provider of integrated supply chain logistics and intermodal transport solutions, asked us to significantly expand their rail-bound warehouse, accounting for an area of 14,250 square meters. Three projects of which our team is very proud." ■