Midrand development offers custom-built warehousing option

Improvon provides full service facility
JOY ORLEK
BRINGING THE ‘one-stop shop’ concept to warehousing construction, design and management is what Johannesburg-based property investment company Improvon is all about. And its portfolio of blue chip facilities and clients is testament to the success of the R700m operation. Newest addition to its portfolio is a 40-hectare site in Midrand where construction will begin later this year and which it has just started marketing to the logistics industry, a large portion of its customer base. Facilities are either tenant-driven and built to specific requirements, or constructed as generic warehouses, custom-fitted to clients’ specifications. “We offer a full service,” says director Jorge da Costa, “from evaluation of the client’s needs to acquisition of the land, construction and design of the facility, as well as property management. We do it all in-house using consultants, space planners and engineers, and include relocation as part of the full turn-key service.” Da Costa is confident that the new Midrand location will be well received. “In the last five years the likes of Shoprite Checkers, New Clicks and Woolworths have based their main distribution warehouses in that area, and demand is growing.” Larger and higher Being at the coalface of warehousing design and implementation for the past 11 years, the company has seen a growing trend to larger and higher facilities in order to capitalise on space, says marketing manager Grant Lewington. And technology has been the enabler. “You can now implement systems of product sourcing and logistics management that facilitate speed and efficiency.” Another key element is the correct location with access to major freeways. “This is one of the reasons we believe the Midrand project is ideal,” says Lewington.