Run a Greener Business With Custom Built Mezzanines!

Run a Greener Business With Custom Built Mezzanines!
By Briana Malmstrom and Brynn Andre
Mezzanine structures create an intermediate floor between two existing stories of a building. The main benefit of a mezzanine is increased floor space without major construction of your building. Mezzanines are typically used in the material handling industry when maximum floor space is needed to house products. Most often a mezzanine can be relocated, and is not a permanent structure within your building.

Aluminum, steel and fiberglass are common materials used to manufacture mezzanine structures. The flooring of the structure is made of strong material like wood or heavy duty steel. Mezzanine types vary depending on the amount of assembly required and the flexibility needed. Integrating mezzanines into your factories and warehouses can contribute to "greener" business practices. Some benefits of including mezzanines into your factory floor plan include:

Reduced need for land acquisition
Save on building energy costs
Reduce fossil fuel usage
Companies often expand horizontally after their warehouse space has been totally utilized. To expand, land must be used and trees, prairie and natural habitats are compromised. Through incorporating a mezzanine into a warehouse a company could likely increase floor space enough to house all products and equipment. No more land acquisition would be necessary. Also, adding more warehouse space requires more money for heating and cooling, which costs more money and uses more natural resources. So again, a mezzanine system alleviates the need for warehouse expansion and land acquisition, effectively keeping heating and cooling costs down while minimizing natural resource use.

If your business operates out of two separate factories or warehouses, there is a considerable gasoline expenditure needed to travel between those two locations. Whether employees travel between locations or whether trucks must stop at both locations to pick up product loads, fuel is being used. Strategic integration of mezzanines into one location could allow a company to place all goods into one location. Workers and trucks could stay at one location and reduce fuel use and wear and tear on vehicles. One centralized business and warehouse location would also make office communications and operations smoother. With those changes a company could see reduced budget for heating and cooling of two locations, reduction of rent and a more cohesive business unit all around.

For more concrete evidence of how cost-effective incorporating mezzanines into a warehouse can be, here are the numbers:

The cost of new construction can average between $45 to $150 per square foot.
The cost of leased land is about $3 to $15 per sq. ft. per year.
Mezzanines cost about $10 to $30 per square foot, at a one time investment.
The monetary and environmental benefits of utilizing mezzanines for your business are clear. At a time when companies are looking to reduce insurance, energy, leasing and other expenditures, a mezzanine is an all-around solution!

Briana Malmstrom is an industrial copywriter with over eight years experience in professional writing for nonprofits, industrial and commercial clients, and small businesses. She currently writes for industrial and commercial clients at http://ecreativeworks.com/

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