The paper merchant hosted around 150 suppliers, customers and staff for drinks inside its new 12,300sqm Brendale facility on 30 May.
National marketing manager Tony Bertrand told ProPrint the site would produce “enormous” efficiency gains as stock would no longer have to be shifted between four warehouses.
He was unable to quantify the cost savings, although he said that was “actually secondary to the benefits customers will receive from our improved operational efficiency”.
Brendale holds more than 5,500 paper, ink, packaging and office products that are delivered throughout the greater Brisbane area by a fleet of 13 trucks, according to Bertrand. The largest customers are Geon and Blue Star, he added.
Bertrand said most of the staff from the four old warehouses had moved to Brendale when it opened in January, although there had been some redundancies.
He said the warehouse’s large capacity would help protect the products by keeping them cleaner and reducing the amount of potentially damaging internal shifting.
Chief executive Craig Brown told the guests that building a new site proved BJ Ball’s commitment to Queensland.
Queensland state manager Paul Hardie said: “We’re very, very proud of this building. It’s an enormous journey we’ve come on in a short amount of time.”
Brendale was designed with sustainability in mind and features vented walls, recycled water throughout and lots of natural light, according to BJ Ball.
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