At Whittan we turn empty space into working space. We have been expanding capabilities and maximising opportunities with storage for over 70 years. Home to Britain’s most trusted brands: Link51, Apex, HiStore, Polypal UK, Polypal Europe, LinkLockers, Probe and LinBins, we have storage products and solutions for every industry, environment or requirement.
Alan Kelly, Chief Operating Officer at The Whittan Group, speaks to Warehouse & Logistics News.
What are your best-known products/solutions/services?
We provide steel storage solutions, including pallet racking, shelving and lockers, and a range of smart accessories to suit a wide variety of businesses. We are the UK’s largest manufacturer of pallet racking products, providing standard and bespoke storage solutions from design to installation – this can include smaller racking schemes to large scale warehouse solutions. In addition, we also provide post-installation services including inspections and auditing and maintenance of storage estates.
Which industry sectors are your customers in and which ones are growing fastest?
We service a broad range of customers and sectors who require standard and complex storage solutions to improve customer service and reduce costs. These include some of the UK’s largest online retailers, third party logistics providers as well as public sector organisations such as the NHS and schools. We also offer solutions for smaller scale products with our online, one-stop-shop, Storage Direct.
Online retailers have seen rapid growth over the last few years, especially since the pandemic, along with major DIY providers.
What are your most recent product innovations?
We always seek to deliver competitive solutions in the shortest possible lead times, adapting our products and offerings for innovative projects involving crane solutions, rack clad buildings and new innovations such as vertical farming.
What are the major trends and developments affecting your category and your customers, and how are you responding?
As a business we serve virtually every industry category, but the main challenges many of them face are similar. Rising prices, labour shortages, rising inflation, security of supply chain and increased energy costs. The continuing growth of warehouse robotics technology and automation is part of the response to these challenges, which in turn is reflected in the products and services that Whittan is supplying and developing. Fixed automation such as conveyors, shuttles and ASRS have been part of our staple offering for some time but are now becoming larger, more complex with higher levels of integration. We are also witnessing a move from non-fixed automation solutions, with our products interfacing with AGV’s or specifically developed robot mezzanine to operate AMR’s.
Sustainability is also becoming a more significant factor within client decision making. Like our clients, Whittan takes this very seriously. We are accredited to ISO 14001 and have achieved an EcoVadis Gold rating and perhaps most importantly, by manufacturing products in the UK for the UK, the carbon footprint of our solutions is dramatically less than our European competitors.
We are also witnessing the rise of new technology driven sustainable Industries such as Vertical Farming. Crops are grown in bio-secure facilities, without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides and up to 95% less water than traditionally grown crops. This revolutionary system maximises space and produces a yield that is up to 250 times higher than conventional farming methods. Plus, they be built on brownfield sites close to point of use, significantly reducing “farm to fork” times associated with imported crops. Here at Whittan, we have significant knowledge and experience in this area and have just delivered one of the world’s largest vertical farming solutions.
Can you tell us about any recent customer contracts and how you helped the customer meet their challenges?
As mentioned above, we have just completed a major vertical farming project, a fantastic solution to many common agricultural issues. From seasonal/weather related problems to environmental issues, vertical farming is a great answer to a number of challenges faced by farmers across the UK. We’ve also recently completed a very colourful project with James and James Fulfilment, with bright pink and green racking, providing not just a smart storage solution to keep the warehouse running like clockwork, but also on brand.
How does business in 2022 compare to previous years? What’s your strategy for succeeding in the current climate?
Since emerging from the pandemic we have seen a significant upturn in trading driven by, for example, the increase in online retail and fulfilment which has in turn driven a demand for additional warehouse and storage space in a market where such space was already in short supply. As a result, we are working hard to ensure that we can continue to provide our products despite delays in the supply chain. Being a British manufacturer, meaning we’re never far away from our customers, is a major advantage here.
What’s the latest news from your company?
We continue to invest significantly in upgrading our facilities, assets and equipment to improve our customer service levels, optimise our costs, increase our flexibility and improve our working environment. This has included investment in new paint line facilities, introducing more automation, upgrading our ERP systems and improving the factory environment and infrastructure (increasing safety, quality and the working environment). We have an aggressive investment programme moving forward which aims at improving our product offering to deliver an industry leading, British-made solution along with expanding and improving our European business.
Can you tell us about any areas where you’re currently making technical advances eg safety, sustainability, environment?
We take our environmental, social and governance responsibilities very seriously and have an ESG policy and plan rolling out to 2025 and beyond. As mentioned above, we were recently awarded the EcoVadis Gold rating, putting us in the top 5% of all companies assessed across all industries. We ensure we procure from sustainable sources and have an on-going plan to audit our suppliers accordingly. As a significant consumer of steel we ensure we and our suppliers have policy and plans to increase recycling wherever possible. We have on-going capital expenditure plans to increase the performance of our assets and equipment, for example we have invested in renewing the paint lines in two of our factories, using non-solvent based paint, reducing energy and emissions. LED lighting is currently being rolled out across our facilities and all company car users are now given an option to select an electric or hybrid vehicle with electronic chargers installed across our sites.
Health and safety is always a top priority at Whittan and is led at board level. We have a clear safety policy which includes accident reporting, investigation and continuous improvement and we are certified to ISO45001 safety standards.
Are you investing in staff training and skills development?
We are always working hard to ensure that we are offering the best possible working environment for our staff, this includes a number of things:
We have annual appraisal, objective setting and personal development plans for our employees. We invest in training and skills development and provide rewards and incentives based on skill levels and development. Company inductions and on-going training plans and processes all continue to be key areas of focus.
We recently introduced and re-launched a leadership development programme which is being rolled out at all levels of the management and leadership team. We continue to support apprenticeships and plan to launch a graduate development programme in 2023.
We are developing and expanding our engineering and technical/design capability, including our European business where we are developing a hub of engineering capability.
We recognise the importance of recognition and have introduced factory incentive schemes and a “Star of the Month” recognition scheme across the business.
Engagement is also important and we want people to feel proud to work for Whittan. Recent investment in new branding, workwear and improvements to the working environments at all of our sites have been key areas of investment.
Are you taking part in any major trade shows? Can you tell us what you’ll be exhibiting there?
After a very successful few days exhibiting at IMHX 2022, we’re officially back in the swing of things with exhibitions. We will have a stand at both LogiMat and the Health and Safety Exhibition in April 2023, showcasing all of our products – pallet racking, lockers, shelving and our wide range of accessories.
The Whittan Group
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