Work on the £30m #BuiltByGMI helicopter logistics hub on behalf of aerospace giant Leonardo continues to move at a pace, with the site’s progress marked by the industrial partners’ next generation workforce cementing their hands into the floor.
Team members from GMI, real estate developer Graftongate, Leonardo and its logistics partner Kuehne+Nagel all came together at the state-of-the-art facility in Yeovil as work moves to the next stage of construction before practical completion of the entire hub.
Charlea Boucher, Project Officer at Leonardo Helicopters UK, cemented her hands into the ground of the 210,000 sq ft single-site logistics hub to symbolise the project’s nod to the future.
“It has been amazing to see the rise of the single-site logistics hub during the final year of my business graduate placement at Leonardo in Yeovil,” said Charlea, who is a fourth-generation employee at Leonardo, now working on the AW149 New Medium Helicopter campaign programme.
“My great-grandparents worked on-site a few generations ago in engineering, so it’s great that this investment in the site is future proofing Yeovil for years to come as I embark on the next stage of my career here at Leonardo.”
Highlighting the construction’s commitment to future generations, is the development’s focus towards sustainability through a number of eco initiatives.
Rainwater harvesting tanks for brown water services, full LED lighting throughout the facility and a heat recovery system in the main warehouse have all been included in the build. Additionally, there will be a bank of electrical vehicle charging points for employees and a new fleet of electrical vehicles.
“The project has had its challenges, but we are where we are now thanks to the teamwork and collaboration between all parties involved,” said GMI Senior Project Manager Glenn Reeves.
“Given where we are situated at the end of Leonardo’s campus, we had to take a number of things into account in relation to the surrounding area, and it was a big demolition job from the outset.
“The first third of the operation involved clearing the site of the old buildings and addressing known areas of ground contamination that were highlighted during extensive pre-construction surveys.
“We have maintained close communication with Leonardo on a daily basis as well as the local community and local businesses – keeping them updated with the progress that we are making.”
Enthused by the number of apprentices working on the scheme, Glenn added: “We’ve been very fortunate to have had half a dozen apprentices on-site and it’s an area of the industry which Leonardo and ourselves are particularly passionate about.
“It’s good to see and we’re really keen to continue pushing this through the various trades.”