Principal contractor in city of Georgian splendour

At Space Engineering Services, we believe that building long term relationships with our customers is a vital part of our business. For us it means that our team develop an acute understanding of the challenges set by particular customers, and the consequent steps needed to provide solutions to those challenges.

An excellent example of this can be found in our work with Marks & Spencer. For more than 120 years, M&S have been one of the most popular retailers in the UK; be that in clothing, or more recently in their hugely successful food operation. As a consequence of this longevity, many of their stores are located in city centres, and are architecturally impressive period buildings (some are even listed). Both of these factors play a key part in the project planning process.

The Marks & Spencer store in Bath, for which we were selected as the principal contractor, presented us with precisely these two challenges – it is a striking 1950’s building sited not more than a stone’s throw from the Roman baths and Pulteney bridge, amidst the busy pedestrianised streets of the Georgian city. The Space Engineering Services team knew therefore that the key to this project was exhaustive and detailed forward planning, and a commitment to keeping any disruption to M&S, and their customers, to a minimum.

To begin with, we worked very closely with the local authorities to ensure that all necessary permissions were in place before commencement of the project. The plant was located on the roof, with refrigeration services running from the roof mounted plant, through the store, to the food hall three storey’s below. Access to the store for the cranes could only be accomplished via the Manvers Hall Church car park, and so in order to ensure that M&S remained on excellent terms with their neighbours, our team spent half a day clearing out the gutters on the church.

Having secured access for the new refrigeration plant, we then had to deal with a familiar challenge with M&S Food halls, which is that since they are usually on the ground or lower ground floor, special allowance has to be made for the fact that an underground gravity condensate system cannot be utilised. As a result, we installed an overhead condensate system, with a concealed copper piping matrix above the false ceiling to take the condensate drainage away.

Whilst installing the new refrigeration plant, and removing the old, we ensured that the refrigeration alarm system was maintained at all times – since not only did M&S not want any stock to go to waste, but also modern food hygiene regulations demand that everything has to be kept refrigerated across the job - either in old or new cabinets.

Continuing to always keep the end consumer in mind, we also planned for every consequence of installing the new refrigeration system. From new ambient shelving, to new flooring, to extensive new signage so that M&S customers could reacquaint themselves with their newly refurbished store, everything was planned meticulously in advance.

As principal contractor, Space Engineering Servives also had to ensure that all the lighting, tills, scales, even the carpeting for the area designated for the ‘per una’ range, was planned and executed on time and on budget. We even arranged for the security guards to monitor access at all times during the project.

This is only a small snapshot of what Space Engineering Servives can achieve, so if you would like to talk to someone about your own particular needs, please call or email us at one of the following contact points:

[t] 0845 602 0670
Email enquiries@space-engineering.co.uk