Customer Description

Hughes Supply is a leading wholesale distributor of plumbing and HVAC supplies to residential commercial, light industrial, institutional, and government customers. Hughes operates facilities throughout the country, particularly in the southeastern and southwestern United States.

 Problem/Inquiry

Mezzanine Distributors was contacted by Hughes Supply to help them transform their 10,000 SF warehouse in Lake Havasu City, AZ. They had grown their business as much as would be allowed by their current warehouse layout and storage systems. They needed to be set up to continue to grow their business over the course of the next 5-10 years. Their goal is to double revenue over that time frame. Hughes’s manager, Matthew Mitchell, had some rough ideas as to what was needed and was looking for a company to come alongside him and his team to crystalize his plans and then execute the project. There was an existing two level shelving mezzanine/pick module in the facility but the layout was poor and there were safety concerns, given that it had been installed over 30 years ago. The building did not have a fire sprinkler system as it had been grandfathered into complying with current code. Hughes Supply Lake Havasu stores and distributes many different types and sizes of plumbing and HVAC parts from very small valves and fittings to large items such as water heaters and toilets. A large mix of product sizes would require multiple different product/system solutions. Hughes needed to store roughly 127% more inventory on site in order to support their future revenue goals

 Solution

A fully customized, newly manufactured 3,800 SF shelving mezzanine was designed in conjunction with our customer and our manufacturing partner, Metalware. Shelving for small and medium sized parts and boxes was on the first level and open floor space was on the second level for larger items such as water heaters and toilets. Arizona PE stamped drawings and calculations were provided for our system to allow for permits to be obtained Our team coordinated all parties involved (customer, manufacturers, installer) to be able to tear down a portion of the existing unsafe system and begin to install the new system. There were three phases that this project was completed in which allowed our customer to continue to operate while construction was taking place. Since the building is leased, we worked with Hughes, the building owner, and the fire sprinkler subcontractor to add in the appropriate fire protection systems into the building and underneath our new shelving mezzanine. Mezzanine Distributors managed the entire permit and inspection process to deliver a fully usable system to our customer Special anchor inspections were completed in order to satisfy local code requirements The ultimate design provided Hughes: Up to 150% more inventory storage (in dollar value) 43% more usable cubic for storage Increased accessibility to fast moving products Eliminate (2) outsourced storage units allowing them to save money each month