mercia park

Winvic Reaches Practical Completion of DSV’s Industrial Warehouse, Cross-dock and Office Facilities at Mercia Park

Winvic Construction Ltd, a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects, has handed over a commemorative key to global transport and logistics company DSV, to celebrate the practical completion of a 522,000 sq ft industrial facility and offices. The scheme

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Winvic and IM Properties Launch first On-Site ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre to Benefit People Across the Midlands

Winvic Construction Ltd, a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects, and its longstanding client, IM Properties, has welcomed the first learners inside its new ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre. The Centre is located at Mercia Park, Leicestershire and its

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Issue 322 : Nov 2024

mercia park

Winvic Reaches Practical Completion of DSV’s Industrial Warehouse, Cross-dock and Office Facilities at Mercia Park

Winvic Construction Ltd, a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects, has handed over a commemorative key to global transport and logistics company DSV, to celebrate the practical completion of a 522,000 sq ft industrial facility and offices. The scheme – designed, constructed and partially fitted out by Winvic during the pandemic – is located at the 238-acre Mercia Park in North West Leicestershire. Delegates from DSV travelled from the company’s global headquarters in Denmark to see the fully realised facility, which comprises three buildings – totalling 522,000 sq ft – and contains 104 dock levellers: A 358,000 sq ft steel-framed warehouse containing three mezzanine floors and two single-storey hub offices totalling 4,360 sq ft A 112,000 sq ft cross-dock terminal that contains a 7,050 sq ft single-storey hub office A 35,660 sq ft three-storey office building The large stand-alone office building was designed and executed to meet DSV’s global standard and Winvic also fitted out the office spaces found within the warehouse buildings. Prominent design features to the main office include a glass lift, wood panelled walls in an oak finish and a feature staircase. The external works package included 381,700 sq ft yard space plus car parking for 406 vehicles, and the programme contained all drainage, retaining wall, and hard and soft landscaping works. The project’s progress has been streamed throughout construction and the full timelapse video can be viewed here. Winvic Construction Director, Rob Bull, said: “The DSV project bucks the industrial facility trend because it comprises separate buildings for the main warehouse, cross dock and offices, but there was no doubt that we could carefully sequence the construction and fit out works to build them all simultaneously and within ten months. Additionally, our team led by Project Manager David Gilbert knew that the aesthetics, material quality and execution had to meet DSV’s high global design standards and we’re as thrilled as DSV are about the exceptional finish achieved. Without such a talented team who works as one and always has an eye on the joint, end-goal we wouldn’t be able to deliver schemes of this nature so swiftly, expertly and in the challenges presented by the pandemic, so thank you to them.”  Brian Winther Almind, Executive Vice President, Group Property at DSV, added: “It has been a pleasure to work in partnership with Winvic over the past year on Mercia Park and the team’s skill and knowledge has driven the project to a successful completion, on time and to budget. It is an important site to DSV – as it will now become home to all three of our business units, DSV Roads, DSV Solutions and DSV Air and Sea – so we’re delighted that the high-quality design, construction and finish not only meets our global standards but that Winvic has once again exceeded expectations and delivered a true flagship campus for our business.” Winvic started works for IM Properties (IMP) to undertake the civils and infrastructure works at Mercia Park in June 2020 and in March 2021, Winvic was appointed once again by the developer to construct the largest ever single occupier logistics park for tenant Jaguar Land Rover. Winvic will remain on site for another year and just last week announced – in partnership with IMP – the launch of the first ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre, located on-site at Mercia Park. Furthermore, the DSV project was selected as the first of two schemes where the Computer-Vision-SMART technology will be developed. The AI enabled cameras that were placed around the site have now been moved to the IMP Jaguar Land Rover site and development of the machine learning software will continue for another 12 months.     For more information on Winvic, the company’s latest project news and job vacancies please visit www.winvic.co.uk. Join Winvic on social media – visit Twitter @WinvicLtd – and LinkedIn.  

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Winvic and IM Properties Unveil First On-Site Sustainability and Innovation Hub at Mercia Park

North West Leicestershire District Council Leaders visit to see employment and skills initiatives in action Following the launch of the on-site ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre at Mercia Park, Winvic Construction Ltd – a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects – and its client, IM Properties (IMP), has unveiled a Sustainability and Innovation Hub (SIH) at the same Leicestershire site. The Leader of North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC), Richard Blunt, Deputy Leader, Richard Ashman, and Chief Executive, Bev Smith, visited the site to see first-hand the progress of the 238-acre employment park, and experience some of the training taking place as part of the scheme’s employment and skills commitments. The visit included the impressive civils and infrastructure works that Winvic has delivered, the recently handed-over 550,000 sq ft facility for DSV and the progress of Jaguar Land Rover’s 2.94 million sq ft global parts logistics centre, as well as Winvic and IM Properties’ commitment to sustainability and innovation that has culminated in the opening of the first satellite Sustainability and Innovation Hub. The Hub comprises three zones – Sustainability, Innovation and Learning – which provide areas to showcase Mercia Park’s sustainability credentials, demonstrate Winvic’s digital advancements, train Winvic’s staff and supply chain more creatively than ever and inspire young people through educational visits. Its proximity to the ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre also means both facilities can be used for linked training activities. One key feature of the SIH is a 360-degree BIM CAVE area, which will aid the BIM design process in a real-time scenario by facilitating design team meetings and workshops and help develop VR imagery for health and safety training. Unlike the BIM CAVE located at Winvic’s Centre for Innovative Construction, it is a 360-degree resource where Virtual Reality (VR) 3D design models can be viewed as an immersive room experience, without a headset. Members of Winvic’s supply chain have partnered with the main contractor to bring the SIH to life, while IMP has provided the land. Carter Accommodation has supplied the cabins, Bespoke Construction the internal partitions and glazing; the PV and battery storage has been provided by Ivegate and the interactive screens by Walter Miles Electrical, while A & L Block Paving has undertaken all works to the external areas. Winvic has also sourced all the internal and external wall graphics and signage for the Hub through local social enterprise Nuneaton Signs. Also found within the SIH, there is an interactive meeting room, training and learning space and an area with a 3D printer. Visitors, such as school, college and university students, can also get hands on with Winvic’s digital Operation and Maintenance Manuals, whereby they can access sections of a design manual, maintenance guidance or 360-degree photos by using QR codes, in the same way end-users can within their finished building. Not only did the visiting party from NWLDC get hands-on, enjoy a demonstration of the BIM CAVE and see the facilities, but they also witnessed PGL Midlands delivering Face-fit training for Bespoke Construction, onsite and classroom IPAF Training being delivered onsite by Nationwide. Activities also included an interactive demonstration at the Sika Concrete Mobile Training Laboratory and a tour of the on-site concrete batching plant as part of Hanson’s concrete sustainability CPD training. To end the visit, Winvic and IMP took the NWLDC Leader, Deputy Leader and Chief Executive on a Mercia Park site tour where they saw the progress of the Jaguar Land Rover project. Winvic’s Technical Director, Tim Reeve, who sits on the company’s Sustainability Leadership Team, commented: “The Sustainability and Innovation Hub – the second facility we have launched with IM Properties at Mercia Park in a matter of weeks – is testament to both company’s commitment to the future of construction, which has sustainability and innovation at its very heart. We can’t thank IM Properties – and our suppliers – enough for their willingness to drive this initiative in partnership with us. “Mercia Park’s green and state-of-the-art digital credentials make it the ideal location for the facility. It’s not only an operational digital design centre for Winvic, IM Properties, consultants and suppliers to utilise, but it also showcases the scheme and our team’s innovative initiatives and acts as an education and training centre for young people in the community. The value of such a facility and the broader was clearly seen by the visitors from North West Leicestershire District Council who were enthused all day, and we’re now looking forward to welcoming schools, college and universities, as well as more companies in our supply chain, to the Hub.” David Smith, planning director for IM Properties added: “It is great to see the commitments we made at the planning stage of the project, being turned into reality. It has been an incredibly difficult period in which to mobilise these activities, however our creative thinking, partnership approach, persistence and passion to maximise the employment and skills outcomes associated with the project, is beginning to yield some very positive outcomes. “Winvic is particularly proactive and we are delighted to be able to host their first Sustainability and Innovation Hub to showcase our joint ambitions to deliver net zero in construction on site as part of our overall commitments as a business to achieve new targets for improving our carbon footprint over the next decade.” Councillor Richard Blunt, Leader of North West Leicestershire District Council said it was great to see first-hand the approach to zero carbon and sustainable development Mercia Park was championing. “Mercia Park is an example of how a development can make a range of significant contributions to an area, both in terms of employment and community infrastructure. The green credentials of the development are very positive. As a council we are committed to being Zero Carbon by 2030 and we want others to follow our lead. To see the sustainability at Mercia Park is very inspiring.” For more information on Winvic, the company’s latest project news

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Winvic and IM Properties Launch first On-Site ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre to Benefit People Across the Midlands

Winvic Construction Ltd, a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects, and its longstanding client, IM Properties, has welcomed the first learners inside its new ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre. The Centre is located at Mercia Park, Leicestershire and its opening celebrates the two companies’ joint intention to make a difference to local people’s lives through social value initiatives, which includes a focus on bringing forward training and employment opportunities. The Mercia Park ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre comprises an onsite construction training facility with practical outdoor space, which is not only available for Winvic and its breadth of subcontractors to use, but also colleges, universities and specialist training providers in the construction industry are being invited to make use of the facilities. All seven participants on the inaugural traffic management training course impressed, so much so that they were offered employment with various traffic management contractors at the end of the course. Developer IM Properties has provided the land at its Mercia Park site while Winvic has funded the on-site Training Centre as part of their social value commitments, ensuring the development has a positive impact on surrounding communities. The first vocational course to launch the Training Centre was facilitated by traffic management training specialist Vocation Training Ltd with support to deliver technical qualifications from Up To Speed Training and Assessment, and practical assessments from TSM, who is one of Winvic’s traffic management subcontractors. The participants were trained over a four-week period and one of the job roles offered – a Trainee Operative position accepted by Anthony Land – is with TSM at Mercia Park. The construction training facility comprises classroom, kitchen and bathroom facilities in addition to a significant, flexible outside space where a wide range of practical training can be undertaken. The area is securely fenced and dedicated parking spaces means the Centre can be used safely and independently of the construction works. Nevertheless, due to it being adjacent to the site, access can be granted to enhance training course learnings. The outdoor space enables contractors and training providers to set up practical training scenarios as opposed to relying on models and videos to teach – from traffic management to health and safety, from groundworks to steelworks – while the classroom environment can accommodate approximately 10 people for theoretical training. Danny Nelson, Winvic’s Director for Industrial, Distribution & Logistics, commented: “As part of our social value commitment for Mercia Park we are delighted to be able to work in partnership with IM Properties and our supply chain to bring benefits the local community by facilitating training and skills development for local people through our bespoke, on-site facility. It’s a real celebration that we have been able to welcome the first learners to Mercia Park, but what makes the launch of the ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre even more special is that all seven trainees have been given traffic management jobs, illustrating that the outcomes can be quantifiable and local people can benefit from the construction work happening nearby to their homes. “We’re currently speaking to local and regional education and training providers about making use of the Centre and we have a number of our subcontractors lined up, excited to have a significant and flexible space at their disposal to deliver practical and theoretical training. Construction and vocational training go hand-in-hand – as we know through the apprenticeship and Year In Industry placements we offer – and we believe this Centre is a glimpse into the future how the industry will gain the skilled people it needs.” Kerry Amory, IM Properties’ social value manager, said: “We’re really pleased to see the training centre finally in action after a long wait during the pandemic for onsite training to return. We know the difference a bespoke facility will make, having witnessed the positive results on our other Leicestershire scheme, Hinckley Park. We’ve drawn on our experience from Hinckley to enhance the employment and skills opportunities at Mercia, which is crucial to us as a business and industry and integral to the delivery of Mercia Park. “Our values are shared not only by our supply chain but Winvic Construction’s too, with TSM, its Traffic Safety Management company, hiring the trainee operative now on site. We are currently in discussions with local FE colleges and third-party training providers to encourage them to use the new facility and have two further courses booked later in September. We would urge anyone interested in booking the facility to get in touch.” Helen Madden, at Vocation Training, said: “The Mercia Park ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre that Winvic has created is a much needed, flexible space that is perfect for a wide range of hands-on and classroom based training courses. It’s an amazing facility and the best that we’ve ever had access to in relation to outdoor space, as its size allows for real-life working conditions to be assembled and practical scenarios carried out, and also because candidates get to experience the feel of a live construction site environment. It was clear that this hugely benefitted the traffic management training participants over the course of the training and it’s great news that all seven of them gained employment.” Richard Turbill, Operations Director at TSM, added: “We have been working as one of Winvic’s subcontractor partners for seven years and we feel honoured to have been part of the launch of the Mercia Park ‘Future of Construction’ Training Centre. Delivering the training was straightforward and efficient because the outdoor area is so spacious, and all the participants were able to get hands-on and therefore learn more quickly. All proved themselves to be worthy of job offers and Anthony who is now on site with TSM as a Trainee Operative at Mercia Park has shown great promise and is enjoying his new job.” Winvic delivered vast civils and infrastructure works to facilitate the 238-acre employment park and is now constructing 2.94 million sq ft global parts

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Winvic Appointed to Construct UK’s Largest Ever Single Occupier Logistics Park for Tenant Jaguar Land Rover

Winvic Wins IM Properties Contract Following Funding from Immediate Capital Group  Winvic Construction Ltd, a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects, has been awarded a contract by repeat client IM Properties to construct a 2.94 million sq ft global parts logistics centre at Mercia Park in Leicestershire. The five industrial units will be leased to Jaguar Land Rover, making this the UK’s largest single occupier logistics park. IM Properties recently announced that Intermediate Capital Group (IGC) would be forward funding the new campus – at the heart of the UK’s Golden Triangle – which will service 80 countries. Aiming for the scheme to be Net Zero in construction, Mercia Park provides a further step forward for IM Properties’ sustainability ambitions for future developments, complimenting an extensive social value programme and a skills and training initiative already underway at the scheme. Winvic’s investment in people, technologies and forward-thinking approaches to construction puts the main contractor in the ideal position to support IM Properties’ green commitments.  Units 2 and 4 are the largest, at 1,000,000 sq ft, with 514m x 181m x 18m steel frames. Units 3 and 5 are each 300,000 sq ft and Unit 1 is 200,000 sq ft and all five buildings will comprise office space, totalling 107,000 sq ft. To date, unusual project challenges have included designing the link building slabs to withstand adjacent warehouse racking leg loads and ensuring the structural frame can tolerate enhanced loading in block stacking areas.   The Winvic team started works on Monday, 15 February and the project will be handed over in September 2022. However, Winvic has been on site at the north-west Leicestershire logistics park site – close to Junction 11 of the M42 – since September 2020 for IM Properties, delivering a £21 million civils and infrastructure contract, including S278 works. The bulk earthwork excavations and bund creation works are now complete, planting of thousands of trees and shrubs has begun and the programme of highways works is progressing at pace. Winvic will undertake preparatory earthworks, before starting construction of the first three units to the south of the estate road, before commencing Units 4 and 5 to the north. In addition to the industrial facilities, Winvic will also be delivering associated works including the construction of five yards and car parks accommodating over 2,300 vehicles. Surface and foul water drainage installation, and external services will also be undertaken, including intricate underground connections between the completed infrastructure works and each individual unit. Additionally, the area to the north of Unit 3 presents a concentrated number of services that require complex clash detection and planning activities. Danny Nelson, Director and Head of Industrial at Winvic, commented: “We have been on an incredible journey with IM Properties to date, working on numerous projects, but schemes of this nature don’t come around too often and so Mercia Park is one we are very proud to be a part of. To be selected by IM Properties as the delivery partner on a project of this size, scale and importance is testament to the relationship that has been cultivated over many years and that we continue to be market leaders in the sector. Our investment in people, technologies and forward-thinking approaches to construction puts Winvic in the ideal position to support the green commitments made by IM Properties and we’re looking forward to constructing our largest industrial facility to date – at almost 3 million sq ft – for IMP and end user, UK automotive pioneer, Jaguar Land Rover.” Jason Jasper, UK project director for IM Properties, said: “This is not only the largest single occupier deal ever to be agreed and funded but a major planning, construction and project delivery accomplishment. We’ve taken a 238-acre site from zero to development ready in four years. Typically a scheme of this scale would be delivered in separate phases over a five-to-ten-year period. After years of investment and hard work, it will be exciting to see all six buildings come out of the ground at the same time. We have worked hard with Winvic and our supply chain to manage the logistical challenges that comes with building this volume at the same time together with managing a phased handover of the development to JLR.” Winvic is working closely with IM Properties and its supply chain to explore job and training opportunities. The Mercia Park Employment Scheme and local Employment and Skills Partnership represents a pledge to ensure local job seekers, students and businesses can benefit from the construction of the 238-acre industrial park. Six local authority areas, which surround the Leicestershire site, are being targeted during construction and people looking for an opportunity who live locally to Mercia Park can get in touch with IM Properties or Winvic. Winvic was also engaged in November by DSV to design, construct and partially fit out its new facility at Mercia Park, which comprises a warehouse, cross-dock terminal and three-storey office building. For more information on Winvic, the company’s latest project news and job vacancies please visit www.winvic.co.uk. Join Winvic on social media – visit Twitter @WinvicLtd – and LinkedIn.  

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Winvic Secures Contract with DSV to Construct Industrial Warehouse, Cross-dock and Office Facilities at Mercia Park

Global transport and logistics company DSV has engaged Winvic Construction Ltd – a leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of multi-sector construction and civil engineering projects – to design, construct and partially fit out its new industrial facility at Mercia Park in North West Leicestershire. The Winvic team started on site last week and the project is due to reach practical completion at the end of August 2021. The industrial scheme comprises three buildings and has 34 dock levellers: A 358,000 sq ft steel-framed warehouse containing three mezzanine floors and two single-storey hub offices totalling 4,360 sq ft A 112,000 sq ft cross-dock terminal that contains a 7,050 sq ft single-storey hub office A 35,660 sq ft three-storey office building Winvic will be fitting out all of the office spaces to a high quality and the large stand-alone office building meets DSV’s global design standard. Prominent design features include a glass lift, wood panelled walls in an oak finish and a feature staircase. The external works package includes 381,700 sq ft yard space plus car parking for 406 vehicles, and the programme contains all drainage, retaining wall and hard and soft landscaping works. The project’s progress can be followed via the timelapse cameras streamed on Winvic Live. This news follows the announcement last month that Winvic was appointed by IM Properties to undertake the civils and infrastructure works at the 238-acre employment park, which is located adjacent to junction 11 of the M42. Furthermore, the project has been selected as the first of two schemes where the Computer-Vision-SMART technology will be developed; AI enabled cameras will be placed around the site and operatives will receive alerts via an app to warn them of nearby hazards to health and safety in real-time.    Winvic Construction Director, Rob Bull, said: “We’re naturally very pleased that DSV witnessed our client-first approach through our relationship with IM Properties and the vast civils and infrastructure delivery at Mercia Park, and also recognised Winvic as the leading main contractor in the sector that gets the job done right. The project is slightly unusual for an industrial project as the facility comprises multiple buildings with multiple storeys. These will be erected simultaneously and our expert team is confident of meeting the programme as well as DSV’s high expectations. “The scheme is expected to receive much interest from the industry and media due to it being the test-bed site for the recently unveiled Computer-Vision-SMART initiative, where brand new AI technology will be developed. External and – later into the programme – internal cameras will be installed on site, which will detect, recognise and track hazards. Myself and team members who will be working on the site are already excited to be part of the technological advancements and to start receiving risk alerts direct to their mobile or wearable devices.”    Brian Winther Almind, Executive Vice President, Group Property at DSV, added: “The new Mercia Park campus in North West Leicestershire is an important new site to DSV as it will become home to all three of our business units, DSV Roads, DSV Solutions and DSV Air and Sea. Our previous collaborations with Winvic have been extremely successful, so we’re looking forward to our ongoing partnership and the strengthening of our relationship through the construction of these modern and efficient facilities at Mercia Park.” One of Winvic’s 2020/2021 cohort of Year In Industry students – Elliot Smith – has been assigned to the DSV industrial warehouse scheme as a Trainee Site Engineer and Winvic’s VR Developer Morgan Hambling who is a construction management student will be working on site as part of a three-month placement. Visit the Winvic blog to read the experiences of those on year out placements. For more information on Winvic, the company’s latest project news and job vacancies please visit www.winvic.co.uk. Join Winvic on social media – visit Twitter @WinvicLtd – and LinkedIn.  

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