A perfectly coordinated construction [+video].

Group De Rudder has been active in the transport, storage and distribution of goods for more than 20 years. With four locations in West Flanders and Vilvoorde, 55,000 m² storage space and 92 trucks, the company has now more than outgrown its modest West Flemish roots, but its central base of operations is still in Kuurne. It was there that the transport company first felt the need to expand in 2016. Beeuwsaert Construct helped guide that growth.

Originally, Group De Rudder operated out of purchased premises on Noordlaan in Kuurne. 

With 7,000 m² storage capacity and barely two loading docks, however, the site's capabilities were limited. In 2016, it was therefore decided to build a new distribution center on a vacant lot on Pieter Verhaeghestraat, right around the corner. This not only had to have a cross-dock of 4,500 m² have, as well as over 10,000 m² storage capacity for both regular and ADR goods. In the search for a reliable partner for this particular task, Beeuwsaert Construct of Ledegem caught our eye.

Full coordination

"For us, it was a first construction project," says CCO Xavier De Rudder. "Not at all for Beeuwsaert Construct. So from the very first moment, they guided us through the project in an extremely professional manner. For example, depending on our needs and the space available on the site, they submitted the first design and put us in contact with all the specialized partners who had to be involved, for example, for the racks, the fire installation and the ADR bunker. Because Beeuwsaert Construct took charge of all the coordination, we were able to sleep on both our ears."

Four compartments

The distribution center in Pieter Verhaeghestraat consists of four compartments: a 4,500 m cross-dock² with 20 loading docks, a classic storage warehouse of 9,000 m², an ADR bunker of approximately 1,500 m² and a four-story office building. All four compartments can be accessed from one central point in the building and are separated from one another through the necessary fire doors and gates. "The building was also literally constructed from those four compartments or corners," Xavier explains. "In fact, during construction, four teams were working here at the same time, gradually working towards each other. In this way, the construction phase ultimately went very smoothly. In barely six months, everything was ready, including the parking lot and other exterior construction."

ADR bunker

The most challenging of the four compartments was undoubtedly the ADR zone, where hazardous and highly flammable goods are stored. "The regulations for this are very strict," said Xavier. "Fortunately, at Beeuwsaert Construct, they knew exactly what was needed. For example, a foam extinguishing system was provided and the bunker is sunk in a watertight tub in relation to the rest of the warehouse. In other words, should a calamity occur, the space is in 4 meters of extinguishing foam within one minute, without being able to cause contamination. The walls are also constructed of extra-thick concrete, so that even in the event of an explosion, everything would remain nicely upright."

Room to grow

In addition to the ADR bunker, the office building was also constructed of concrete; in the rest of the distribution center, only the lower meters used concrete. Xavier: "Forklift trucks are used everywhere. Then it's handy to work with a robust material that can take a beating. For the rest, we mainly worked with sandwich panels. These ensure that we can work here all year round at a pleasant temperature, without heating."

The dimensions of both the precast concrete panels and the sandwich panels were matched to the dimensions of the loading gates. Ten skylights were also provided in the crossdock. "Due to our continued growth, the crossdock is now already functioning more as a storage area," laughs Xavier. "Since then, we have therefore already erected two additional new buildings, including a new distribution center in neighboring Heule. It was no accident that we called on Beeuwsaert Construct again. There are no more concrete construction projects in the pipeline at the moment, but if we find a suitable site in the future, we will no doubt write to Beeuwsaert Construct again."  

Visit Beeuwsaert Construct at
Logistic & Industrial Build - Booth 1451