New Zealand heavy equipment supplier TransDiesel has opened a new national distribution centre in Hautapu, south of Hamilton.
The four-hectare site is situated at 219 Peake Rd adjacent to the Waikato Expressway. With 80% of the freight originating from Ports of Auckland, the location will enable TransDiesel to improve its national coverage.
Its purpose is to provide a consistent supply chain solution by relocating product to a more cost-competitive in-house solution and enabling better controls and stock management.
The additional space and central location also gives the facility the added advantage of being able to use the new infrastructure investment being made around the Tauranga port upgrades.
TransDiesel chief executive Mike McKessar say the new hub represents a “significant investment in all-new infrastructure at a greenfields site and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our customers”.
“It offers multiple benefits to our clients and will enable many associated positive flow-ons, ranging from improved customer service, enhanced satisfaction thanks to shorter wait times as well as employment for local residents.
“All of the new construction has been done with environmental considerations in mind, with the new facility showcasing a number of sustainability-oriented features.”
New highway projects are also due to finish in late 2023, which will give faster and more effective transit of products not only from the ports to the hub, but also to other TransDiesel branches and customer locations.
The first inventory items have just arrived which includes 500,000 litres of Shell products. In coming months, the 2,600-plus pallet spaces in the warehouse will be utilised as the new facility comes online.
“There will be three warehouse staff to start the process and there will be additional employees required to keep pace with future growth,” McKessar says.
“From a TransDiesel perspective, the number of employees in the region has now risen to six technicians. I am sure this number will climb as demand for products increases alongside sales and market growth.”
The facility has also been built with an eye to the future, with an extra hectare of land available onsite for development when required.
Among its sustainability initiatives, rain water is harvested from the roof and collected in five 30,000-litre tanks.
These tanks, operating in conjunction with a bore water supply, will enable the facility to be self-sustaining for water and will be the primary method of water use onsite.
A waste water system under the ground will manage the stormwater in an environmentally effective way, and after the filtration process the water can be used through the facility operations.
A Kingspan warm roofing system also assists the building to manage seasonal variations, helping keep employees warm in winter by retaining the heat within the building and cool in summer by reducing the solar gain.
On the inside, LED-lighting is a feature to reduce costs and also overall running costs, thanks to bulb life of 100,000 hours which equates to running costs on a daily basis being 70% less compared with a traditional high-bay light system.
“The new Hautapu site is hugely complementary to the existing TransDiesel network and I’m really excited by the possibilities this central national distribution centre can bring to the business from a customer service perspective, but also the real benefit it will have to our many end-users around the country,” McKessar says.
“2022 is shaping up to be a year of dynamic growth and opportunity, and we’re looking forward to being a part of the action and helping businesses realise their potential.”
