From high quality shop presentation to warehouse storage – the comprehensive range of shelving, display and racking systems available from specialist manufacturer Polypal, is central to the new, impressive facility opened by Irish houseware and building product providers, Bolands. The four-acre site, now up and running on the edge of Arklow in County Wicklow, marks the organisation's expansion from its traditional High Street location and has been designed to offer a vast range of products both to the public and the trade – all enhanced by a purpose-designed storage and display facility.
Centre–piece of the new site is a 1900 sq.m. shop facility where retail customers can obtain an extensive range of houseware and garden supplies – from paint and electrical appliances to plants, furniture and specialist building equipment. This wide variation of product types and sizes has been fully met by the versatility of the Polypal range, allowing the optimum combination of display and storage areas to be achieved. John Drake is Business Development Manager at the company and highlights a few of the key features –
"Our 'Integrated Minipal' system is used around the perimeter of the shop area to provide shelving up to 2.5 metres underneath a display area and facia to a top beam at 4.5 metres. The space thus created above the shelves can then be used either for 'full set' displays or for over-stocking, with printed roller blinds adding both impact and cover where required," he says.
"Throughout the floor area, a series of four-post gondolas have been installed – some to 2.5 metres in height with others, such as within the ironmongery area, at lower levels," he continues. "The option of multiple shelving locations and specialist attachments including peg panels, back cladding and dividers, presents Bolands with a wide choice of display and presentation opportunities."
The white goods displays alongside represent one of the most innovative designs within the shop. Featuring back panels in ash veneered slat with aluminium inserts, and with either a star or curved footprint, these offer a choice of display area options – all divisible into self-contained sections.
An attached warehouse leads from the shop, a third of which has been designated as a self-selection area with access doors separating it from additional bulk storage. Polypal's 'Stockpal' storage system is used extensively throughout with the system's designed-in versatility reflected in the vast range of product sizes and types held here – from china and glass to white goods, sheet materials and plastering products.
"It is the ability to configure the storage to meet exact needs that we believe is one of the key benefits enjoyed by Bolands," adds Polypal Sales and Marketing Director John Youle.
"This is further demonstrated outside the warehouse where galvanised racking, that can accommodate loads of up to 3 tonnes per level, is used for storing treated timber and heavy-duty products," he adds. "The former operates as part of the organisation's successful timber importing service which is enhanced by a further internal storage area where our purpose-deigned timber racking allows long lengths of wood products to be efficiently stored and readily retrieved."
Part of the Amalgamated Hardware Group – famous for its 'Topline' brand – Bolands has become a leading retail and wholesale outlet in Ireland. Development of this type, with the move away from the traditional town centre location, has represented a major and important step forward for the company. The ability to source the vast majority of its storage and display systems from a single, proven supplier has, John Youle believes, contributed to achieving a consistent level of quality and appearance, to the efficiency of the move and to Bolands' ongoing success. "This is an important development for the company and one with which we are extremely proud to be associated," he concludes.
Polypal
Polypal House
Monckton Road Ind Est
Wakefield
WF2 7AL
Tel (01924) 200015
Fax (01924) 201160
www.polypal.co.uk