The partnership between Inviron, the leading building services and facilities management provider, and Vanderlande Industries began with Heathrow's T5 and continues to grow with the award of two further contracts. Heathrow's Terminal 5 has a state of the art, fully automated Baggage Handling System.

Inviron's Materials Handling Unit, which is part of its Airports business, recently began the mechanical and electrical (M&E) installation work at two retail distribution centres in Daventry, Northamptonshire and Wakefield, South Yorkshire, on behalf of Vanderlande Industries. Both projects are due for completion in June.

The work at the Daventry retail centre involves the installation of a conveyor picking and sorting system that allows workers to pick products from centralised storage, place them on the conveyor system, which automatically sorts the products by destination barcodes, and diverts them to the respective collation points.

Meanwhile, the contract at the retail distribution centre in Wakefield includes M&E works to the large, mainly automated, systems of conveyors and sorting equipment. The conveyor systems at this centre are split into several areas, including Fully Automated Storage and Retrieval, Picking and Sorting and Consolidation and Order Despatch.

Similar electrical control systems are to be utilised at both centres, though the actual sorting systems at each are different with VI Cross Belt Sorters® at the Wakefield distribution centre and a VI Posisorter® 'Shoe Sorter' at the Daventry centre.

David Wood, head of the Material Handling Unit at Inviron, commented: "Since we began working with Vanderlande Industries we have built upon the relationship and have always seen them as a key client, so it is extremely rewarding to have been awarded these two prestigious projects. We feel that Inviron's attitude towards customer care, together with Vanderlande Industries' innovative approach has proved a winning combination that will continue to grow."