Norfolk Relocation

W & O Norfolk recently completed their move to a new location:

W & O Norfolk recently completed their move to a new location. The former facility was outdated and in need of major renovations to make it perform up to the level that the business volume required. After looking at various options the decision was made to relocate to a more modern facility. This involved several months of research, planning, and preparation as Norfolk is one of the busiest facilities in W & O. To accommodate their volume and facilitate growth the new facility would have to be up to date with equipment suited to their needs.

As a result of the decision to upgrade and modernize, the Norfolk facility has gone from two small buildings with a total of approximately 14,000 square feet of space with no loading docks to a facility with 30,000 square feet of space with four docks. A custom made oversize door was installed on one of the docks to allow crates of pipe to be moved in and out of the building easily.

When planning this relocation a decision was made to implement the first wireless IT application for W & O. This gave us greater flexibility to locate hardware throughout the facility. The wireless system has performed very well and will be utilized extensively in the future.

All new racking was used in the warehouse as part of the project. Portman Equipment, another PON N.A. company, did the rack installation. Portman also supplied all of the material handling equipment for the new facility.

Another first for W & O is the warehouse lighting. The existing standard florescent lighting was not energy efficient nor did it provide the quality of lighting that was required. To meet the requirements the latest technology in lighting equipment was selected and installed. This state of the art lighting not only saves money by using less energy it also reduces waste and replacement costs due to the extremely long life of the bulbs.

All new furniture, carpeting, and window treatments were used in the office areas. The result is an aesthetically pleasing office that reflects the professionalism of the entire staff.

A crew was sent from the corporate office to assist with the relocation. This allowed the branch personnel to continue servicing their customers day to day with no disruptions. The corporate group did the prep work that is so crucial to a move like this. When the time came for the actual move it went smoothly and had no impact on customer service. The old location closed at 5 Friday afternoon and the new location was open for business Monday morning. The Norfolk staff was tremendous in working over the weekend to make the move happen on time.

The impact to customers will be tremendous with this facility now having over twice the inventory available for immediate delivery. Expectations are very high for the crew in Norfolk and they now have the facility and equipment to meet those goals. Even more important is the attitude and the quality of the personnel. They had great success before in a facility that had drawbacks and challenges. Now they can concentrate all of their efforts on servicing their customers knowing that they have a facility to operate from that has been designed to support their efforts.