Beckman Coulter's new premises in the Centralpoint Innovation District in Samrand, Johannesburg
JSE-listed Growthpoint Properties has assisted long-standing tenant biomedical products manufacturer Beckman Coulter to relocate from Growthpoint Business Park in Midrand, Johannesburg, to a new bespoke 5 750 m2 premises in the Centralpoint Innovation District, in Samrand, Johannesburg.
The Growthpoint development team started the nine-month project in March last year and completed it in December. The development represents a R60-million investment by Growthpoint and the new facility will become part of its industrial property portfolio with Beckman Coulter on a long lease.
Beckman Coulter develops and manufactures solutions for the diagnostics and life sciences industries. Its new building combines laboratory, warehouse and distribution space with a 2 400 m2 head office.
“With its new custom-built building, Beckman Coulter has realised significant economies of scale and will reap the . . . benefits of operating in a more functional facility,” said Growthpoint industrial asset management head Errol Taylor.
Being located in Centralpoint provides access to security, power availability, diverse fibre connectivity and a well-maintained public precinct managed by a property owners’ association.
The new facility features several environment-conscious design aspects, such as plenty of natural light, low-energy light-emitting-diode lighting and energy-efficient air conditioning.
The building harvests rainwater for its landscaping and has a reinforced roof structure that can accommodate the weight of solar panels. The fit-for-purpose freezer and cold room, critical considerations for Beckman Coulter, use environment-friendly cooling systems and perform according to international standards.
The new Beckman Coulter head office has sufficient parking, while its distribution facility has a sizeable yard to accommodate logistics traffic.
Beckman Coulter joins the five other developments in Growthpoint’s Centralpoint development.
“Beckman Coulter is an ideal fit for the area, which is characterised by a noteworthy concentration of high-tech companies,” Taylor said.
Growthpoint recently completed the turnkey data centre development of global technology services provider NTT’s Johannesburg 1 Data Centre at Centralpoint. NTT is represented in Africa and the Middle East by South African systems integrator and managed services provider Dimension Data.
The NTT Johannesburg 1 Data Centre is expected to launch in April.
Other developments in the Centralpoint precinct include the 10 000 m2 Bakers warehouse, distribution facility and regional offices, as well as the 27 000 m2 Sterling Industrial Park.
Growthpoint has readied several more plug-and-play development sites for the roll-out of the Centralpoint Innovation District.