MG Real Estate, Yusen Logistics Benelux and GSK place the first column of a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical logistics warehouse
MG Real Estate, Yusen Logistics and GSK have placed the first column of a new state-of-the-art pharmaceutical logistics warehouse in Gembloux in the presence of the Minister-President of the Walloon Government Elio Di Rupo and his Vice-President and Minister of Economy Willy Borsus. This 40,000 m² warehouse in Gembloux will enable its user - GSK - to store, transport and export reagents and millions of vaccines to more than 160 countries. The building will be equipped with a range of automated solutions such as AMRs (Autonomous Mobile Robots) and AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) as support technologies for order processing. Handover is scheduled for mid-2024.
MG Park Logistics Isnes
MG Real Estate, Yusen Logistics and GSK, in the presence of Walloon Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and his Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Econimical Affairs Willy Borsus, have set the first column of what is to be a state-of-the-art and automated pharma hub for GSK. It will be named MG Park Logistics Isnes. This new logistics centre is unique within a 500-kilometre radius due to the size of the hub, the different temperatures of the storage areas as well as the sustainability standards.
MG Park Logistics Isnes will use 100% green energy, energy-saving LED lighting and motion sensors, energy and heat recovery systems and an energy management system that reduces energy consumption.
Automated and innovative solutions
Project developer MG Real Estate will retain ownership of the land and the building, and will ensure that the new warehouse meets the highest sustainability standards. The building will be BREEAM-certified. It will also include solar panels and charging points for electric cars and bicycles to make its infrastructure performance even more sustainable.
"The brand new warehouse will be located in Gembloux, southern Belgium. The project will consist of two separate buildings. Besides 1,500m² of dangerous goods storage, there will be a warehouse with variable temperatures and automated solutions of about 39,000m². This is truly unique in our region." -- Ignace De Paepe, President MG Real Estate.
Thanks to previous projects for the pharmaceutical industry, MG Real Estate is familiar with the specific requirements needed for these kinds of warehouses. Thus, not only will so-called goods-to-persons, which are automated storage and order-picking systems in which employees no longer have to walk or drive to the goods, but in which the goods come via rack controllers and to the employee, and pick-to-light workstations will be installed. Pick to light (or PTL) is an order picking technology for warehouses and distribution centres that uses lights and LEDs on racks or shelves to indicate picking locations and guide order pickers through their work. This leads to higher efficiency and facilitates order picker work.
High-capacity shuttle systems, automated packing systems and sorting machines are also used. Moreover, the design takes into account a closed cold chain for handling and storage of pharmaceutical products, and there will be a large pharmaceutical packaging department. Yusen Logistics will become the operator of the building and leverage its rich logistics expertise.
"This new warehouse emphasises our strategy to further develop pharma and vaccine activities within Benelux and Europe. Large volumes combined with various forms of automation and all this according to the highest quality and HSES standards**. We are a strong and professional healthcare logistics specialist offering customers unique added value in their supply chain activities." - Bruno Jacques, Managing Director of Yusen Logistics Benelux, said.
"The construction of this new logistics centre will not only enable impressive storage space for our vaccines with variable temperatures, but will also be the hub for the export of millions of vaccines around the world. This collaboration will allow us to distribute our vaccines to more than 160 countries faster, while reducing our CO2 emissions. This large-scale project, unique in the region, once again demonstrates GSK's intention to strengthen the biopharmaceutical ecosystem in Belgium while consolidating Wallonia's position at the top of logistical excellence." - Emmanuel Amory, Managing Director of the vaccine division for GSK Belgium
"The development of this type of partnership in Wallonia allows our region to strengthen its role as a centre of excellence for biopharma in Europe. More than ever, we want to remain a hub and launch platform for advanced vaccines and drugs destined for the whole world. Our Walloon recovery plan also aims to strengthen this dynamic" - Elio Di Rupo, Prime Minister of the Walloon government.
"We welcome the project for this logistics hub, which will help anchor the pharmaceutical sector in Wallonia. We support the various actors working together to strengthen Wallonia's international position in logistics and biotechnology and strongly encourage this type of initiative in our region." - Willy Borsus, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of the Walloon government.
About
Yusen Logistics (Benelux) is a logistics company that provides global services for sea and air freight forwarding, warehouse management, distribution and end-to-end supply chain management with Kaizen-based performance improvement. With a network of more than 550 offices in 47 countries and regions around the world, more than 25,000 employees provide optimal solutions for customers' diverse needs. Yusen Logistics Benelux covers 16 branches and a total of 200,000m² of warehouse space in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Sweden, where they employ more than 800 people.
GSK is an international biopharmaceutical company, and is the pharmaceutical company in Belgium with 9,000 employees. With three major vaccine investment sites in Wavre, the largest vaccine production site worldwide, Rixensart (vaccine research and development), and Gembloux, Belgium is central to its global vaccine activities. Exporting 2 million vaccines every day, GSK is the first exporter in Wallonia. Hence the importance of this new state-of-the-art hub that will be able to stock reactives and millions of vaccines.
