A £350,000 Complete Turnkey Refurbishment at Lineage

Lineage is the world’s largest dynamic temperature-controlled warehousing and logistics company. Its mission is to feed the world by preserving, protecting and optimising the global food supply chain.

With 13 facilities across the UK, their ambient and freezer logistics and distribution base at Belle Eau Park, Bilsthorpe is a vital link in their supply chain. The site is proud of its focus on safety and efficiency, so Norris Commercial Refurbishment was the obvious choice when they needed a complete turnkey refurbishment in their office and welfare areas.

Complete Turnkey Refurbishment – From Design to Completion

A complete turnkey refurbishment involves taking a building or area back to a shell and then beginning again from scratch. With a £350,000 project such as this, a detailed project plan is the first step we take, using the client timeline to factor in what will be done when to build a process flow. In this case, we also provided architectural drawings, based on the initial survey we commissioned, working with the client to ensure everything from electrical cabling to desks and windows was exactly where it was needed.

When working with Lineage in the past, we successfully applied for changes to building use regulations; however, these were not required in this case, so the team moved forward at pace with preparing the site for the refurbishment process.

Building Jez-town – preparing for a complete office refurbishment

The Lineage site in Bilsthorpe, Nottingham, is their busiest in the UK, with lorries constantly coming and going, keeping the food chain across the country moving. To add a little extra pressure, the refurbishment was to take place in the run-up to Christmas, making the site busier than ever! 

The turnkey refurbishment comprised a large office area, as well as the canteen, toilet and changing areas, used by office staff and lorry drivers alike. It was essential that the welfare and comfort of on-site and mobile employees were not impacted by the work Norris was doing on site. In addition, operations needed to continue smoothly at the usual pace. The decision was taken to take over half the site at a time to further minimise disruption.  

To enable this, we brought in temporary buildings to act as offices, canteens, toilets and changing spaces. High-volume, large vehicle traffic on site meant the need to add marked walkways and exclusion zones, along with appropriate signage and PPE and high-visibility jackets for our team and site workers.

With all temporary buildings in place and connected to mains water, sewage and electricity, we worked with Lineage’s digital team to add full data connection. All that was left was to name this pop-up hub, and so it became Jez-town! Named after Jez Rhodes, our chief point of liaison and Continuous Improvement Manager at Lineage.

A complete turnkey refurbishment for Christmas!

With Jez-town built, we were able to move to phase 2 of the refurbishment. Work commenced at the beginning of October, with a 6-8 week turnaround required. 

Our team first stripped back the existing areas, removing furniture and partitions, flooring and suspended ceilings and electrical systems, to return to the original shell of the space. 

Once done, it was time to rebuild, working in reverse to add back the electrical and air conditioning first before adding the surrounding structure. Comfortable, streamlined work and rest areas, along with practical people-flow designs, were a priority. Within the office, different roles had different requirements, such as the office staff who communicated with lorry drivers through window partitions, who needed adjustable desks and seats to work at varied heights.

Norris regularly sources and supplies all the furniture for complete turnkey refurbishments. In this case, the client has a regular supplier who was able to make this provision from our plans.

Through working daytimes, evenings and weekends, Norris really pulled out all the stops to ensure no staff member had to spend the run-up to Christmas sitting in a semi-refurbished space. One half complete, we switched around to complete the second half and were able to dismantle Jez-town and hand back the site on time and with minimal disruption.

Listening to the needs of the employees

People spend a lot of their day at work, so it’s important they are comfortable, and their needs are met. Norris and Lineage understood the importance of asking those who would be using the spaces how they would work best for them. This showed in the feedback received after we handed the keys back.

“Seeing the transformation after nearly 20 years of working in the old offices has been truly amazing.

The new space looks clean, neat, and sharp, and it now feels like a genuinely professional working environment for our team members.

The overall result is a testament to the hard work of those individuals who spent countless hours scrutinising every detail, ensuring that the final transition was as seamless as possible. Their dedication has clearly paid off.

I absolutely love my new office. It’s wonderful to have a workspace that you can be proud of – somewhere you genuinely want to look after and take pride in.

We’ve given staff the environment they need to perform their roles to the standard we expect. A place where they can work comfortably in a clean, tidy, and professional setting while carrying out their day-to-day responsibilities. There’s certainly a lot to be proud of.” Lee McCabe- Transport Manager

“I think the office refurb is amazing. The highlight to me is the new kitchenette area. Every time my guys have done a survey, they have always requested a place to go away from their desk and now we have it. The printer room with all the printers housed together is brilliant. And finally the extra space we have gained is really good.” Linzi Wright – Inventory Control Manager

Office Refurbishments – let Norris do the hard work

A big concern when considering a complete office refurbishment is the disruption it will cause to your business. At Norris Commercial Refurbishment, we are skilled in minimising disruption while staying within your timescales and budget, from planning to completion. 

Contact us today to find out how we can do the hard work for you.