Separate to accumulate
October 1st 2008

Need to split production from warehousing to make a cleaner environment? Galebreaker says its Flexipart partitioning system enables firms to rapidly and simply maximise space without affecting order fulfilment

With the current economic climate seeing increases in rent and other associated costs, Galebreaker says its flexible and cost effective alternatives to traditional partitioning methods enable factories and warehouses to maximise the use of existing space with minimal cost and disruption to production.

Need to split production from warehousing to make a cleaner environment? Flexipart's sealed partition system can repel dust and fumes, reduce heat and energy loss, lessen noise levels or simply segregate areas of a building for specific tasks.

Made from woven polyester with a PVC coated finish, the material is strong and durable but, with its translucent nature, still lets 45 per cent of the natural light through. The flexibility of the material allows you to construct a permanent or temporary partitioning solution at an economical cost when compared to other methods such as steel or wood.

Galebreaker can also provide Acoustic Barriers that deliver up to 30dB reduction of certain sound frequencies, alongside Firewall material that is rated up to Class "O" for building regulations.

Rapid rise doors, PVC strip access, maintenance panels and vision panels can all be built into the material if required. The standard Flexipart material is fire retardant to British standards, safe in food environments, tear resistant and UV stabilised.

Spatial tonic As part of the Spadel Group, Brecon Beacons Natural Waters has seen rapid growth from a cottage industry to a major commercial operation supplying high quality mineral water to many UK national retail chains. As such, the company required a new bottle blowing area, which needed to be protected from contamination from the warehouse as, once formed, the bottles are fed directly to the clean area where the water is bottled.

Galebreaker supplied a three sided partition, eight metres high and forty metres long, fixed to an existing wall. The whole area was tensioned in four directions keeping the material taught and wrinkle free. Sections were joined using the Flexipart "V" Joint system that makes adding or removing sections easy.

Remote controlled rapid doors were added into the installation and manufactured from the same Flexipart material. Vision panels were also built into the system to maintain a safe working area.

In contrast with traditional systems, the entire installation took three days to complete and minimised disruption to production.

It's the nuts As a BRC certified company,nut roaster and packer Dormen's factory and production facilities must strictly adhere to the rigorous standard specified by the British Retail Consortium. With this in mind, the firm approached Galebreaker when it needed internal partitioning.

Production manager Richard Sly was looking to segregate packaging and production and stop cross contamination of products, to create a dust free environment to work in, while maintaining access through roller doors and PVC strip doors.

"The Galebreaker product offered everything that we were looking for in one flexible, cost effective package", says Sly.

The whole system, including doors was installed in five days and allowed Dormen to maintain production during the installation period. "The installation had a minimal impact on production, meaning we could continue to fulfil our orders," Sly confirms.

A major benefit of the Flexipart System is that, unlike other construction materials such as plaster board or brick, there is no dust generated during build up, providing a solution where maintaining a dust free and contamination free environment is essential.

In circumstances where production increases, necessitating extra room within a portioned area, Galebreaker says this can be rabidly achieved by extending the length of the Flexipart wall as required.

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