McLanachan Transport has an unrivalled reputation in the pharmaceutical transport sector. For many years we have supported some of Europe's major pharmaceutical corporations providing dual temperature-controlled trailer transportation across the UK and Europe, including single market countries Switzerland and Norway. We pride ourselves on working with our customers to help find solutions to their logistics challenges.

Our Customer - Pharmaceutical Production Site

Recognised as a critical partner to the pharmaceutical sector, McLanachan Transport was contacted by a long-standing customer who was looking for a bespoke temperature-controlled solution at one of their production sites near Stuttgart, Germany. They had already looked at several options which were either unviable due to available space, timescale or were cost-prohibitive.

The Challenges - Production Plant Storage Problems

As their production demands were increasing, this significant pharmaceutical business required additional temperature-controlled storage for ingredients used to produce several products. Their dual temperature-controlled storage facility was at full capacity, but with the additional raw ingredients required, they approached McLanachan Transport to consult on possible solutions.

With no extra space available within the manufacturing plant, they had looked at adding a temperature-controlled extension to the facility. However, as the new products were close to entering production, the time involved in a building project would cause significant fulfilment problems.

Another option they reviewed was a refrigerated container. Still, as the customer required dual temperature zones and a larger capacity than many of these standard units provide, this option was also unviable. A further problem to overcome was the unit would need to be watertight and accessible without the risk of contamination from groundwater. Therefore it would need to be raised off the ground but still have easy access for a pallet truck.

The Solution - Creating Dual Temperature Storage Solutions

Our logistics specialists reviewed the client’s requirements and the rejected options and recommended a robust solution. Our solution more than met the criteria required by the customer, not only did it offer the necessary secure space, but also met the tight timeframe.

McLanachan Transport located a standard 13.6m dual temperature-controlled trailer with a tail-lift beside the production building. We modified the power supply to the trailer refrigeration unit so it could connect to the buildings power supply and added a battery pack to the tail-lift, allowing them to work without being connected to the tractor unit.

From final sign-off on the project, the conversion, transportation from the UK and installation in Germany took less than a week. This creative use of an existing trailer ensured the unit was in place ahead of the production start date.

Although always intended as a temporary solution, the trailer unit has worked so well, that it is on long-term hire far beyond its original predicted timeframe.

A bespoke, cost-effective and sustainable solution, where taking the time to understand our client’s needs and challenges has delivered a positive outcome.