If a wine appears to nod at the buyer, it will be a bottle from the J.P. Chenet brand. Designed in 1984, the shape has become the trademark of Les Grands Chais de France (GCF), one of France's leading wine and spirits merchants. In the landscape of the French Northern Vosges, the company provides a structural counterpoint at its headquarters in Petersbach: high-bay warehouses play an important role here in a central location to ensure worldwide exports to over 173 countries - with a bottling capacity of one million bottles per day. "The central storage facility helps Groupe GCF to reduce its carbon footprint and also guarantee a high quality of service," explains project manager Lionel Schmitt from GCF.

Growing storage requirements
It was only a matter of time before the family business here in Alsace needed another high-bay warehouse after 2012 to cover its storage requirements with an additional 21,200 pallet spaces. The wine wholesaler relied on the expertise of Austrian high-bay racking specialist voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik for the construction of the first racking system of this size. In close cooperation with two warehouses in the Landiras logistics center (Bordeaux), a home for wines from well-known growing regions such as Pomerol, Saint-Émilion and Montagne-Saint-Émilion had already been created.
From the customer's point of view, Lionel Schmitt states: "With voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik as a partner, everything went according to plan - we were very impressed by the company's flexibility. These experiences from previous collaborations were a reason to realize the fourth high-bay warehouse together. Matthias Fitz, project manager of the company from Krems in Lower Austria: "Our customers know that voestalpine guarantees maximum precision in materials and project planning and implementation of the project according to plan, even when things are extremely urgent." A factor that should not be underestimated, as GCF's high delivery and production figures demanded rapid project completion. With only eleven weeks between the start of construction and completion, the logistics specialists of the companies carrying out the work were stretched to the limit. Fitz: "We worked in two shifts in Petersbach to complete the high-bay warehouse. It was only thanks to the precise deliveries of parts from our own production and from suppliers that we were able to keep to the challenging schedule."

Precision that keeps tight
Wine is a sensitive and valuable commodity that requires great care, especially when it comes to storage. The stocks at Les Grands Chais de France are therefore not only precisely temperature-controlled, but also protected against fire. For the high-bay racking specialists at voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik, this posed particular challenges during the planning and construction phases. "Temperature control and fire protection require a special interplay of service and precision," explains Matthias Fitz. The system, which ensures that the temperature and humidity regime is maintained, is installed under the roof, where it is easily accessible at all times via a continuous service corridor. Fitz: "The customer wanted this aisle in the new, almost 40-metre-high warehouse to be connected to its counterpart in the previous building, while of course complying with all specifications regarding temperature and pressure regulation."
Specifications that are characterized by low tolerances. Only 0.03 m³ of air - that's just 30 liters! - may flow in or out per hour, and the warehouse is protected from fires by negative pressure combined with a reduction in the oxygen content. The "kink" here is reserved solely for the characteristic bottles and is not a model for modern high-bay racking construction. GCF was once again able to rely on the efficiency and punctuality of the high-bay racking specialists.

About voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik
voestalpine Krems Finaltechnik is a company of the voestalpine Group (Metal Forming Division) based in Krems, Lower Austria. The more than 200 employees generated revenue of EUR 87.6 million in the business year 2017/18. The specialist for high-bay warehouses, system racking and road safety combines profile development and production as well as further processing through to turnkey solutions at the Krems site.