FUCHS Lubricants, a manufacturer of lubricants for the mining industry, has started constructing a £5 million ($6.2 million) raw materials warehouse at its UK headquarters in Staffordshire, England.

The warehouse is the latest step in a £10 million investment program at FUCHS UK. It has seen the introduction of a range of innovative manufacturing plant machinery and a new multi-line pallet loading robot arm, which will help fill the 4,000 pallet spaces the facility is expected to have.

Building work began in August and the framework structure and roof have now been completed, while the external cladding is now well underway.

The fully automated High Bay warehouse is due for completion in the June quarter of 2020 and will significantly increase the amount of raw materials the business can store on site, according to the company. Its construction will also allow an existing building to become a specialist packaging warehouse.

Mark Gray, Head of Operations at FUCHS UK, said: “We have an ambition to place FUCHS Lubricants at the forefront of R&D, manufacturing and distribution of lubricants in the UK. This raw materials warehouse represents a significant investment for the business, and a further step towards that goal. The warehouse includes sophisticated automation, which will futureproof the business and create cost-saving benefits.”

Two wire guided driverless Very Narrow Aisle trucks will operate in the warehouse, benefitting from high travel and lift speeds, without operator intervention. The warehouse has the ability for automatic or manual storage place allocation.