A BOURNEMOUTH business has completed a £300,000 contract to fit out a major new warehouse extension at the port of Southampton.

Linear Storage Solutions already had a long-standing relationship with the retail supply chain logistics company Import Services Ltd.

The new £3.7m retail extension, leased from Associated British Ports, will boost Import Services’ capacity from 40,000 pallets to 53,000 pallets, augmenting the 20,000 pallet locations installed by Liner Storage Solutions three years ago.

The extension has been fitted out with Link pallet racking supplied through Moresecure Storage Products.

Linear has enhanced the racking system to protect it from truck impact, as well as adding labelling to improve product recognition.

The warehouse will handle a throughput of 10-15 containers a day as well as daily pallet movements of 2,000-3,000.

The extension is creating 25 jobs and has enabled Import Services to move to 24-hour operation.

Import Services operations director Roger Loveless said: “As a company we like to use regional suppliers.

“We trust Linear Storage Solutions, which has always provided us with a first-rate service and always delivers on time and on budget. In addition, it offers us a single source solution for our material handling needs.

“We are delighted with the system which is working really efficiently and has enabled us to deliver improved distribution levels.”