As the country went into lockdown earlier this year, many turned to home improvement to keep themselves occupied.

In fact, according to the Office of National Statistics, UK retail sales increased for the fifth consecutive month in September, largely due to a rise in spending on DIY and household goods. Home improvement retailers were one of a few types of retail permitted to open their stores in lockdown under the category of ‘essential’, while online sales of DIY goods soared.

As a well-recognised household paint brand, and one of the UK’s largest and oldest paint manufacturers, Crown Paints supplies several major retailers from their Hull production site. As the abnormally high consumer demand for paint continued over the summer, it was clear their existing warehouse had reached capacity. Provision needed to be made to store excess stock over winter. Whilst this stock could be stored outside in warmer weather, water-based paint is susceptible to frost damage, so it was essential the stock was moved inside before the cold snap. Foreseeing this issue, personnel from Crown Paints’ Engineering and Procurement departments reviewed different storage options, considering the suitability, quality and cost of each solution. After receiving a recommendation, they contacted Aganto Sales Manager Elliot Birks regarding a temporary warehouse. Elliot was able to meet with the Crown Paints project team at a nearby site to show a finished example of an Aganto building before purchase. They were impressed with the quality of the build, along with the ability to easily modify, extend or relocate it when needed. With the confidence of being able to see the Aganto product before they went ahead, Crown Paints proceeded with the installation of a 10m x 30m x 5.2m insulated temporary building.

As part of a complete project management service, Aganto carried out a sub site scan on to check the location of underground services (electric and gas pipework) and drains before work commenced. The client’s preferred site location for the building footprint was on an unused area of car park that extended across both concrete and tarmac. The design of Aganto buildings allows the aluminium frames to be anchored to any level hardstanding, so the dual surface caused no issue. In this case, most of the structure was on concrete, with the end base plates positioned on tarmac. The frame was erected in a single day, with the PVC roof and side panels fitted on day 2. Roller doors and pedestrian fire doors were fitted on day 3, with the final two days spent completing outstanding panel work, fitting the guttering/downpipes and sealing. Installation was successfully completed over five days – on time and to the agreed schedule. Crown Paints now own a flexible warehousing solution that keeps their workforce and paint stocks shielded from the cold, in an insulated ambient environment.