Solar central warehouse

Solars new central warehouse in Kumla is being built to consolidate the warehouse operations from Halmstad and Örebro into a single facility. The reason for the choice of location has primarily been the availability of large land areas and the possibility of creating an efficient flow in one place, with the capacity to grow over time.

A question that arose regarding the site was that it was agricultural land here, which can be sensitive to convert to industrial/storage land. But an entrepreneur who was going to convert a clear-cut area to agricultural land got in touch and was interested in the topsoil. So all the topsoil was transported 5 km to create new agricultural land.

– According to BREEAM, this is completely unique and has never happened in Sweden before, that land is converted for land in that way. So by definition, no agricultural land has disappeared but it is a ratio of 1:1, says Jonas Widström, Vice President Operations, Solar.

The facility will be fully operational in the summer of 2026 and covers a total of approximately 48,000 m². Of these, about 45,000 m² is warehouse space, while the remaining areas are used for, among other things, a restaurant, wellness, changing rooms, and offices. The building is erected on a plot of 120,000 m², with additional land south of the warehouse of 125,000 m², which gives a total of 245,000 m² for future expansion.

The warehouse supplies up to 30 terminals around Sweden, from Malmö to Gällivare.

As part of the logistics arrangement, overnight deliveries take place from Gävle and southwards.

– We distribute to up to 30 terminals from Malmö to Gällivare and have overnight delivery from Gävle down to Malmö. We are the only ones in the industry doing that, says Jonas.

When operations start, about 120 people will work at the facility, the majority of whom will be in the warehouse operations. At the same time, automation is a central part of the project, both for efficient logistics and improved working conditions.

The building is classified as BREEAM Excellent, fully fitted. On the roof, there is an 800 kW solar panel system, but the building is prepared to have a pure solar production contract in the future. They have installed twelve geothermal heat pumps that are connected to 84 boreholes. During the summer, free cooling is used for the offices, restaurant, changing rooms, and gym.

Jonas Widström, Vice President Operations, Solar and Henrik Hägglund, project manager Granitor.

The warehouse is designed to handle large volumes with a high degree of automation. There are a total of 28 gates, of which eight are designated for incoming goods and 20 for outgoing.

For small goods, an Autostore system is used that handles approximately 80 per cent of the assortment. Storage takes place via six dedicated gates. After picking, the cartons are automatically raised in two different sizes and then sealed automatically through covers, folding, and labelling. Before the packages are transported further, each parcel is weighed and measured in a scanner.

Long goods are handled in an automated system for items up to six metres in length. There is one station for incoming goods and two for order picking, as well as a picking area where they manually reach the most frequently picked items during, for example, service or downtime.

The automation has been chosen for occupational health reasons, as long goods handling traditionally involves a higher risk of incidents and physically demanding tasks. This solution reduces manual handling while making work more accessible to more people.

In addition, there are:

• Pallet storage with automatic trucks

• A separate pallet storage for goods that do not fit within traditional categories such as small goods, long goods, or standard pallets

• Cable management with a high degree of automation

Long goods crane that handles, for example, cable ladders.

Workstations in the warehouse with service poles.

Charging station for robot trucks.

New cable machine so that the customer can purchase pre-cut cables.

The office building contains, in addition to workspaces in an open-plan office landscape, areas for customer and supplier meetings, an auditorium, several conference rooms, and a digital showroom. On the top floor, there is an yet undefined area of approximately 1,200 m², intended for future needs and further development.

Granitor has been responsible for the cable management of the warehouse. The project manager has been Henrik Hägglund. The work on the trunking lasted for approximately eight months. The project design has largely been ongoing, as not all drawings were completed at the start of the project.

– We have bought everything as we go. When the project started, the drawings were not ready. So we have had to design along the way, says Henrik Hägglund, project manager at Granitor.

The work began in the Autostore section for small goods and then continued in the large warehouse halls, where extensive amounts of cable ladders were installed. Running around the entire warehouse are three levels of cable ladders mounted on adjustable supports. Where the supports did not reach all the way, anchor rails have been used to extend the reach.

In addition to installations along the walls, ladders and troughs have also been run out into the warehouse via trusses, which posed challenges due to the height of the building and the need to reach floor level in places that were not planned from the start.

– A project like this may seem relatively simple, but then quite complex problems can arise along the way. At that point, you have to start thinking backwards to find the best solution here and now, says Henrik.

We have delivered solutions for both power and cable management in the facility. The choice of service poles for offices and workstations in the warehouse was made later in the project, after the need had been clarified in the planning.

Selection of delivered products

• Cable ladders (MP-S and MP-LS): approximately 7600 m.

• Wire mesh trays (Z4 and electro-galvanised): approximately 1300 m.

• Luminaires (311S): 700 m.

• Service poles for office environments and workstations in the warehouse.

Cable ladders and luminaire rails.

Wire mesh trays for the ventilation installation.

Adjustable support with anchor rail as an extension.

Three levels with cable ladders around the entire warehouse.

With a few MP angles, you can solve most things.