PORTAKABIN GROUP PROVIDES EMERGENCY RESPONSE FOR TESCO EXPRESS AND STORE OPENS JUST 4 WEEKS AFTER ITS ARRIVAL ON SITE

Just weeks after a severe fire destroyed the Tesco Express store in Heywood, Greater Manchester, the Portakabin Group had constructed a new store in its place which is now open and serving customers.

The emergency response project involved the use of a Yorkon off-site solution which allowed the rapid construction of a new Tesco Express store. The building was installed on site in just one day and opened less than four weeks later, despite challenging ground conditions on the petrol filling station site.

Yorkon off-site solutions from the Portakabin Group have now been used to construct 242 projects for Tesco in the last 15 years. The Group has delivered a wide range of buildings for the food retailer – from convenience and petrol filling station stores to award-winning 10,000sqft interim supermarkets and a 28,000sqft eco-store.

Commenting on the Heywood project, Daniel Frith, Tesco Development Manager for Convenience Stores, said, “Modular construction is an ideal solution for disaster recovery because of the rapid speed and value for money it can offer. We are really pleased with the finished Express store at Heywood and would certainly recommend Yorkon building solutions to other retailers in similar circumstances. The project delivery team from the Portakabin Group performed fantastically well and was very fast to respond to the crisis situation we had.”

“The site transformation in such a short time was phenomenal and is a credit to everyone involved.”

Simon Ambler, Director of the Portakabin Group, said, “We are delighted to have helped Tesco with this challenging and urgent project to minimise disruption for Tesco Express customers following the fire. Petrol filling stations are highly constrained sites that require specialist ground works for the forecourt. By using an off-site solution for the building, work on site is significantly reduced and there is much less disruption to trading.”

Other emergency projects carried out by the Portakabin Group include a 13,300sqft purpose-built, interim supermarket to help Tesco ease some of the problems faced by the flood-hit community of Workington in Cumbria after thousands of residents were cut off north of the River Derwent. This store was delivered and installed on a brownfield site in an unprecedented 18 hours, and open and trading just 13 days after start on site.

For further information about Yorkon off-site solutions from the Portakabin Group for retail and commercial projects, call 0845 2000 123, email [email protected] or see www.yorkon.info.