Panattoni completes the most modern fulfillment centre in the Czech Republic for Amazon

The Amazon fulfillment centre in Kojetín is unique not only in its size, but above all in the substantial savings in built-up area it offers. While the total area of the hall exceeds 187,000 square metres, the floor plan occupies less than a third, i.e. only 51,000 square metres. The height of the building exceeds 27 metres where the stair shafts lead. 

"I am really proud that today we can hand over to Amazon a building that is an absolute leader in terms of combining modern technology and environmental friendliness.  The Dobrovíz project was already unique in these areas, but with the fulfillment centre in Kojetin we have once again moved on several generations. I believe that the state-of-the-art logistics facility will help Amazon to further expand in the e-commerce sector, which has literally boomed in recent years. At the same time, I hope that the project will be beneficial for the entire region thanks to the large number of job opportunities," said Pavel Sovička, Panattoni's CEO for the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

"I look forward to Amazon offering a modern working environment in the new robotics centre, where employees will be facilitated by special robotic units. When the building is fully operational, we will employ up to 2,000 permanent workers here," said Michal Šmíd, Amazon's general manager for the Czech Republic.

Former sugar factory to become online shopping centre

The new distribution hall was built on the site of the former sugar factory's settling tanks. Reinforced concrete rubble from its demolition has been used to cover the surrounding hardening. The entire brownfield had to be remediated and the environmental burdens removed before construction could begin.

Thousands of trucks were replaced by eco-trains

The actual construction of the four-storey building was in many ways specific and challenging in terms of the coordination of the construction work and the companies on site. At any one time, there were around a thousand people on site. By comparison, the standard number of people for single-storey buildings is around 150.

The fulfillment centre meets strict environmental requirements and thus aspires to an extremely high rating of Excellent in the BREEAM New Construction environmental certification. This ambition influenced the building's construction right from the start.

Due to its proximity to the rail site, it was possible to transport approximately 6,800 panels weighing more than 80,000 tonnes to the site by ecological train directly from the concrete factory. The trains replaced over 2,200 trucks that would have been needed to transport these panels. The distance from which the building material is imported is one of the many criteria assessed during BREEAM certification.

The emphasis on ecology and sustainability is also evident in other aspects. For example, a lizard pond and bee hives are planned for the site. Of course, 500 trees will also be planted, 300 of them on site and the rest in Kojetin. The entire fulfillment centre will be heated by heat pumps instead of gas.

"We are also concerned that the operation is environmentally friendly, which is why we have installed modern 4 MW photovoltaic panels on the roof. This exceeds conventional domestic installations by three orders of magnitude," concluded Michal Šmíd for Amazon.