This event marks the coming together on this collaborative project between Leonardo and its logistics partner Kuehne+Nagel, with real estate developer Graftongate, and GMI Construction Group. Team members representing the companies came together symbolising the investment into the Yeovil site as it moves to the next stage of construction before practical completion of the entire Hub.
This new single-site logistics hub will help support Leonardo Helicopters’ global fleet through the warehousing of components and tooling in this state-of-the-art facility, which is now coming to fruition. The project sees the consolidation of eight existing warehouses into one all-encompassing logistics hub.
Charlea Boucher, Project Officer at Leonardo Helicopters UK, cemented her hands into the ground of the Single-Site Logistics Hub as a symbol of the forward-looking Hub securing the future of logistics on-site in Yeovil. Charlea, a fourth-generation employee at Leonardo, is a business graduate of 2022. She is now a project officer working on the AW149 New Medium Helicopter campaign programme.
“It has been amazing to see the rise of the Single-Site Logistics Hub during the final year of my business graduate placement at Leonardo in Yeovil. My great-grandparents worked on-site a few generations ago in engineering, so it’s great that this investment in the site is future proofing Yeovil for years to come as I embark on the next stages of my career here at Leonardo,” said Charlea.
Sustainability is at the heart of this development with its high-end technologies. The brand new Hub will be equipped with rainwater harvesting tanks for brown water services – this means that water is recycled for use throughout the building in a non-drinking capacity.
Recycling is at the heart of this new facility wherever possible. So far, 61,000 tonnes of demolition material has been moved with 25,000 cubic metres of material re-utilised into the new building. More than 15,000 cubic metres of earth have been moved with a total expectation of reaching 25,000 cubic metres.
The Hub will employ LED lighting throughout the facility and a heat recovery system that will be used in the main warehouse to complement the modern office temperature control system. A bank of electric vehicle charging points will be installed to support Leonardo’s employee Green Travel plan as well as servicing a brand new fleet of electric commercial vehicles that will distribute components from the Hub to the company’s manufacturing facilities.
It is anticipated that the Hub will be operational in 2023. The site will be operated under a new ten-year commercial contract with Kuehne+Nagel, which will include an investment in plant and equipment installation and warehousing transition activity by the global transport and logistics company.
