Cardinal Logistics’ new facility at Drury is a colossus, with the largest of its two warehouses totalling 21,400 square metres under a towering roof. But while the scale is impressive, ultimately it’s the functionality that sets it apart. When Cardinal’s fitout is completed, the logistics centre will house New Zealand’s first ultra-high fully automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS), capable of processing pallets from arrival to storage to dispatch without human touch.

For Haydn & Rollett, the ASRS aspect was the major point of difference, and required close coordination with the Japanese supplier to construct a warehouse around their system, with its racks, rails and automated cranes. That meant a long design process, with Haydn & Rollett heavily involved from the outset to ensure constructability.