It’s a sign of the UK’s strong economy that we currently have a shortage of warehouse space and a correspondingly strong market for temporary buildings and semipermanent warehouses, but finding a supplier with capacity to meet your requirements as and when you need them can be a challenge.

Tobias Raeber
Managing Director, Herchenbach GmbH

Fast and affordable, available for hire or outright purchase, Herchenbach is one of the industry’s leading and trusted providers for temporary buildings and semipermanent warehouse solutions to capacity problems. Able to offer expert solutions to the most challenging circumstances, Herchenbach is one of only a few UK providers that manufactures its temporary buildings itself.

Tobias Raeber, Managing Director, Herchenbach GmbH, spoke to Warehouse & Logistics News.

Warehouse & Logistics News – Tobias, as Managing Director, what does your job involve day to day?

My weeks are mostly spent with customers and potential customers in our key markets, resulting in me being in the UK two days per week and elsewhere in Europe the rest of the week.

WLN – Where is Herchenbach based in the UK? How are you set up to cover the UK in terms of sales and service?

Herchenbach has a UK Sales and Project Management team close to Manchester, who can reach potential clients in just a few hours. We do in person meetings and on-site visits to potential customers before signing a contract to ensure our building and the site match. Our installation experts are also UK-based, and we comply with the UK’s strict health and safety laws and regulations.

WLN – Where do you make the buildings you sell here?

All Herchenbach temporary buildings are engineered and produced in Germany. For roller gates, LED lighting systems and other options we work with established partners from across Europe.

WLN – Where and when was Herchenbach founded? Who owns it now?

Herchenbach was established in 1924, starting as a builder of wooden halls around Cologne. Our head office is in Cologne, but we operate across Europe and internationally. Today the company is owned by a small group of individuals, including myself, and we employ a great team with the skills and experience to help us continue growing and developing as a business.

WLN – Which countries do you operate in?

We operate across Europe, with dedicated teams for Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK, France and Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Over the last few years we have successfully delivered projects in Norway, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and as far afield as Uruguay, Bhutan, Argentina, Qatar!

We often find that once a building is up and the customer sees how quick the installation was and how versatile the building and contract options are, they look to installing more buildings across multiple sites. Many customers have multiple Herchenbach buildings and keep coming back for more.

WLN – You claim to be one of only a few UK providers that manufactures and sells its temporary buildings itself. Can you substantiate that?

Herchenbach is one of very few firms with a dedicated in-house team of structural engineers who are continually working to develop and improve our buildings’ durability, cost efficiency and versatility. We currently have a wide range of profiles available to meet customers’ sitespecific requirements. For anything more ‘out of the ordinary’ our designers will work directly with customers to engineer a personalised solution.

Our focus on commercial and industry sectors’ needs and our ability to offer tailor-made solutions, rather than a one size fits all approach, enables us to be competitive.

WLN – What difference does making your own buildings make?

It makes a big difference. We not only understand customers’ needs better, we also provide buildings directly from the manufacturer’s technical desk, ensuring optimal and smart solutions for hire or purchase. We can also offer lower prices and shorter “distances” between customer and manufacturer.

WLN – How do you describe your market position?

Herchenbach stands for quality and reliability at competitive prices. We only focus on temporary buildings for commercial and industrial use. Our experience in these areas has led us to winning contracts to provide and install buildings for major food manufacturing, petrochemical, nuclear and car production sites. We are able to share this experience with our customers – who may not have managed building projects like this before – to foresee and avoid potential problems or delays, ensuring the project runs smoothly for everybody.

WLN – How long a period is “temporary”? And how long is “semipermanent”?

Some of our customers have had buildings up for over 20 years! So the “temporary” is a bit misleading. All Herchenbach buildings are made of durable non-corrosive components and suitable for permanent installation to BS EN 1991. The buildings we install have also been tested to withstand location-specific weather such as wind and snow. They last many years and often customers who initially hired buildings for 24-36 months then decide to purchase them.

WLN – What are the typical dimensions of your buildings?

Our building sizes range from 100m2 to over 20,000 m2, recently finished for a Welsh brewery. Of approximately 500 buildings we installed in 2016 the average was 700m2. Our most popular clearspan is 20m.

WLN – How much do your structures cost compared to “permanent” structures?

The cost savings can be substantial, up to 60% / 70%. Potential clients should consider the fact that Herchenbach buildings are demountable and can be increased/decreased in size or moved from one location to another; which means they are perfectly suited for leased plots of land. In addition, if the building has been purchased outright, when no longer required you can de-install it and sell it on to recoup some of the initial outlay.

WLN – Which customers and which business sectors are your temporary buildings most popular with? Which sectors are growing fastest?

Numerous sectors have discovered temporary buildings’ appeal – air cargo, logistics and manufacturing, basically anyone who needs a warehouse. Large retailers’ distribution centres have been growing recently. We are glad to be listed as preferred supplier to many of our larger UK customers.

WLN – What business scenarios are your structures most suitable for?

Ambient, frost-free warehousing is where our buildings work best. For temperature-controlled storage we have a patent protected insulation system with particularly low heat losses versus competitors’ solutions. However, when warehouses need to have a crane or be multi-storey, we advise customers to opt for a different structure.

WLN – What are temporary buildings’ advantages versus other structures?

We can install 10,000 m2 in around 5 weeks, so rapid installation is a main advantage. Other key advantages are the structures’ cost effectiveness, the range of purchase options – hire, outright, hire purchase – and fewer planning challenges.

WLN – How easy are your temporary buildings to erect and then move elsewhere?

Herchenbach buildings are fully demountable and easily installed/uninstalled and reinstalled elsewhere.

Businesses with multiple locations particularly benefit as they can use buildings for 6–12 months on one site then move them elsewhere. When relocating buildings about 99% of materials can be re-used, so the costs involved are minimal.

WLN – Can you tell us about your particularly notable projects in the UK?

Our team is especially proud of our 20,000m2 multi-bay warehouse for a brewery in Wales. The site is exposed to winds over 150km/h and heavy storms: few suppliers provide temporary buildings that withstand these conditions. Recently we also installed three connected buildings at the bakery site of a large supermarket chain, following their existing buildings’ loss in a fire. The timeline was challenging but we had the building up and operating in 14 days.

WLN – What is the typical leadtime for your buildings?

Speed of delivery is where Herchenbach excels. Once all commercial and technical details are clarified and the contract signed, we can deliver buildings in days. It can take a bit longer if the specifications and dimensions have been customdesigned. After delivery, our experienced installation crews can have buildings up in days. Structures of 1,000m2 take about a week and 10,000m2 about five weeks.

WLN – What steps are involved in temporary building projects?

There are three easy steps: Consultation & conceptualisation: Offer & contract: Transport & installation.

Step 1 is the critical part, where we talk to customers to fully understand their needs and clarify all the project details to ensure the building and installation meets requirements.

Step 2 is the formalities, and

step 3 is realising the solution.

WLN – What are the regulations about putting up temporary buildings? What planning permission do you need?

Unless the building is very small, almost all temporary buildings require planning permission. We provide guidance to customers to ensure a seamless and accelerated process.

WLN – What are the long-term prospects for temporary buildings in the UK? What are the likely implications of Brexit on this industry?

At Herchenbach we are confident about our operations here and our temporary buildings’ potential. Our product portfolio is optimally suited for climate conditions here in terms of meeting snow and wind loads – in 92 years we’ve never had a structure collapse. Our customers appreciate our focus on the commercial applications of temporary buildings and our purchasing and finance options are flexible to accommodate needs during times of growth and change.

Thanks to our new and repeat customers and the positive feedback and referrals we continue to receive, we’re confident that whatever Brexit’s repercussions, Herchenbach will go on delivering quality, value and efficiency in the temporary building sector.

HERCHENBACH UK

Tel: 01925 552021

www.herchenbach.co.uk

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