The IDEC teams, who are taking care of the construction of France’s biggest logistics warehouse for their client CONFORAMA, elected representatives and the developers for the project, GAZELEY and ARGAN, got together for the ceremony to erect the first post. We look at this symbolic event and meet up with Alexandre NODALE, CEO of CONFORAMA, Laurent GAUTIER, Mayor of Tournan-en-Brie and Tony MORAIS, General Director of IDEC.
The biggest logistics project in France
180,000 m², 800 metres long, 31 units, 187 loading bays and storage capacity of around 270,000 pallets… the future warehouse for CONFORAMA boasts some exceptional dimensions. The furniture company is counting on this exceptional project to improve the quality of its service and to continue its online development, as its CEO, Alexandre NODALE tells us. “This new logistics project will offer better service to our stores and consequently for our clients. What is useful about this project is it should prevent interruptions and so be able to deliver products to our stores more quickly and more frequently. It will allow us to deal with 55% of our flows and to supply all of our outlets in the North of a line stretching from Bordeaux to Besançon. The aim is to cope with the development of our online business. It is easier to centralise more products in a single location to manage their distribution.”
Taking up a fascinating challenge
The construction of this extra-large logistics warehouse represents a challenge that IDEC will complete in just 18 months thanks to the commitment of its entire staff. “This operation involves around twenty members of staff,” explained Tony MORAIS. “The project can be divided up into large sections with one team dedicated to roofing, another one dedicated to the technical installations and offices, while a third group is in charge of working on the outside of the building. At the same time, we can make the most of all the services in the company involved, the BIM team, our experts in the Environmental Department, the teams in charge of safety and environmental measures, and our interior designers, who will all be working alongside the client. We also have a health and safety officer, who will be full time at the work site.”
As for Alexandre NODALE, he is confident that this project will be a complete success. “We remain confident. We are expecting a lot from this project. Everyone wants this to be successful, in particular IDEC, so they can highlight the work done and the importance of such a project. I think this can lead to everyone feeling proud inside the business and is a factor which is positive for future development. It is a fantastic showcase.” Tony Morais agreed with these comments and could not hide his desire to see a successful project thanks to the hard work of all the teams. “We are very proud to be in charge of the construction of this project and are doing our utmost to deliver the project to schedule. This is a victory for the whole of the company in charge of this project,” explained the General Director of IDEC.
A social responsibility programme to help local employment
From the outset, the project was set up with a social responsibility programme in mind in order to provide jobs locally. “IDEC, who is building this logistics warehouse, worked on a a local employment clause, which they included in the contracts signed with the companies involved,” explained Laurent GAUTIER, Mayor of Tournan en Brie. “We made this request to all our partners and today out twenty, fifteen gave a favourable reply to join in with us in applying these measures,” added Tony MORAIS. “In fact, IDEC was behind these measures and took on a works assistant for this project proposed to us by the Mayor of Tournan en Brie. Our partners have also taken on local people to work on the site.”
The Mayor of the commune in Seine et Marne is pleased with these measures after contributing to this approach with the services of the town. “We can see here a lot of people involved in the project who have the qualities and values that match such an exceptional project. The town of Tournan en Brie applied the “Job Action in Tournan” policy. These measures involve informing all of those looking for work in the town and surrounding area and setting up these arrangements, receiving all the interested candidates. We connect up the job offers and those looking for work.”
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