Dec 8 2010
Medline Industries, Inc., the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies, officially broke ground today on a new state-of-the-art 350,000 square-foot distribution facility in Prattville, Alabama.
The new facility is expected to be fully operational in 2011 and initially employ 30 people. It will serve hospitals, nursing homes, surgery centers and home care agencies throughout the state of Alabama and northwest Florida.
The distribution center will be constructed with the latest energy efficient technology and undergo The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification review for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED uses a rating system that measures a building's performance in energy efficiency, CO2 emission reduction and improved indoor environmental quality both during construction as well as the daily operation of the building.
Some of the main cost efficient technologies employed at the facility will include:
- Motion sensors combined with advanced high-output, energy-saving lighting to keep lights off in aisles when not in use.
- Daylight sensors in the light fixtures to take advantage of the natural daylight introduced to the building through over 300 skylights. As long as the skylights bring in sufficient light, the light fixtures stay off.
- High-output T5 light fixtures (more energy efficient) and on/off sensors -- there are no actual on/off switches in the warehouse -- they are controlled with the motion and daylight sensors.
- Super-sized fans to reduce dependence on electricity for air conditioning and heating.
- Tankless hot water heaters to reduce energy when heating up water.
- Recycling programs, including all corrugated boxes, office paper and fluorescent bulbs.
"Our customers throughout Alabama will benefit greatly from our new state-of-the art distribution center and the significant depth of inventory that we carry," said Bill Abington, Medline's President of Operations. "The building design and construction not only demonstrate Medline's commitment to our environment, but they also incorporate world-wide best practices in layout, technology, and distribution methods -- as well as an outstanding team of professionals -- to deliver our products to our customers where and when they need them."
The new facility will be built to the latest building standards utilizing the latest distribution logistics. It features a flow-through layout (incoming deliveries are delivered at one end of the building and outgoing shipments on the other end) with 22 receiving dock doors and 23 shipping dock doors and narrow-aisle configuration, maximizing the efficiency of the facility.
When opened, the new facility will give Medline a total of 33 distribution centers in the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Source: http://www.medline.com