VILLERS BRETONNEUX, FRANCE – 4B France, a subsidiary of the 4B Group, a worldwide manufacturer of components for bucket elevators and conveyors, and electronic monitoring equipment, is celebrating the inauguration of its new purpose-built office and warehouse complex, located 6 kilometers from the company’s old premises.

Nicholas Braime, chairman of 4B Group, said the facilities and warehouse complex provide great opportunities for 4B, as well as strengthening the group’s position in Europe after Brexit.

“Due to Brexit, we have made this major investment in France to build a new facility to increase 4B France’s activities and better support our customers in France and Europe,” he said. “Ninety percent of the 4B Group’s sales are made through global exports, and the European market remains very important.”

The new facility was designed with the latest warehouse technology and high-level racking. The additional space and modern stock management system will significantly increase the company’s ability to fulfill more customer orders than ever before, reduce delivery times and improve the efficiency of order processing, the company said.

4B France, originally known as Setem, has a 30-year history within the 4B Braime Group of companies. The partnership started with a collaboration on the Starco elevator bucket, a design developed and patented by Jean Tripoteau, a technician at Setem, and subsequently manufactured on an industrial scale at the 4B Group’s headquarters in Leeds (UK).

4B said the Starco design of elevator bucket and the related technology first developed by Setem was the first to fully exploit the advantages of centrifugal discharge in bucket elevators when handling granular agricultural products such a cereals, allowing smoother handling of the product, with less dust, while dramatically increasing the capacity of the elevator.