West Midlands Interchange

By May 2022, Winvic had been appointed as main contractor on the project, enlisted to deliver the first phase of the West Midlands Interchange project following its success as the design delivery stage partner.  

Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation’s [Polypipe CGU] involvement in the project, which – when complete – is set to be not only the largest intermodal logistics site in the UK, but also one of the nation’s most environmentally conscious logistic developments, began in Autumn 2022 when the Polypipe CGU team were asked to review the drainage designs.

“We were approached  when it became apparent that there were some issues with the original drainage designs, which weren’t quite at the level they needed to be in order for them to be implemented,” Lee Woodcock, Key Account Manager at Polpyipe CGU, said, “so our technical team worked closely with those at Winvic to look into different options and issued a set of drawings that led into the permanent design of the project.”

“Discussions  began in 2022, followed by  installation of  the drainage in Q3 of 2023, so that gives a good idea of how much went into  the design stage.  It was a really useful collaboration, working with Polypipe CGU to progress the design and making amendments and suggestions where we had ideas,” William Hatfield, Senior Engineer at Winvic, added.

“Polypipe CGU’s innovation, specifically in relation to the use of Ridgistorm-XL chambers, in itself made it a very preferable option for us on site, and it’s been a great exercise for us in terms of sustainability. Being able to influence decisions at design stage towards more sustainable conscious choices, has helped to drive down embodied emissions through the adoption of lower-carbon materials and offsite construction practices, with the move away from concrete having a big impact on that.

“Winvic prioritises the use of innovation and, in this instance, the buildability and usability of the product has been great. I had a good expectation of what support I would get from both a key account and technical perspective, and the design development that we had was brilliant. The bespoke chambers allowed us greater flexibility, which was really useful when finding the right solution, but there’s a big time-saving aspect too – the pre-formed chambers have provided a great element for programme investment of time.

“Quite a few of our engineers had never used pre-formed manual systems before, let alone the Polypipe CGU system, so they’ve been really impressed with how it works, how easy it is to install once we were on site and the speed and efficiency of it”, Will continued, adding: “For me, the whole process throughout has been really good”

“The relationship that we have with Will and the rest of the team at Winvic is what makes this such a successful partnership,” Lee said, “going back to the very early stages of this project, Will came along to our Loughborough factory and had a tour, allowing him to really see and understand the workings of the team and the system before placing any orders.

“Since then, we’ve been in regular contact, with both sides able to pick up the phone or drop an email to ask questions or resolve any issues and it’s been extremely effective. We’re working in a way that allows things to be actioned swiftly, and with the best possible solution. A great example of this is that the drainage had been ordered for a particular part of the project, and then the design changed so, instead of scrapping an entire pipe run, we’ve been able to send someone to site and make the appropriate amends.”

“This relationship is the epitome of collaboration,” James Haddon, Polypipe CGU’s Regional Sales Director (South), said, “Winvic have been one of our biggest accounts for over five years and, during that time, they’ve really taken full advantage of the benefits of being a key account. Together, we’ve worked to bring this significant project – a masterplan, really – to fruition, leaning on each other’s experience, knowledge and resources to embrace innovation and collectively move forward.”

“This is a brilliant project – another in a string of positive collaborations between our two businesses – and one that we are excited to continue to support as it progresses to completion,” Lee concluded.