More than forty years of experience
The AKNO Group was founded in 1971 and immediately became a leading company in the construction sector, specialising in the creation and management of high-value integrated industrial and logistical projects. In this article we will focus on AKNO’s business parks and also tell you about some projects that, in our opinion, best represent our business philosophy.
In general, we can start by saying that the business parks that AKNO builds and manages are a quality response to the needs of modern logistics, which require the integration of warehouses and production areas with offices, services and reception facilities, creating a hub of activity that can produce value and strengthen the company’s brand identity.
Moreover, in the construction of a business park, AKNO has a primary interest in its location with respect to major roads, especially motorways, so as to facilitate not only the exchange of goods, but also the relationship between companies and the region. For this reason, as we will see better below, the locations of our logistics parks are always linked to important road junctions: Carpiano at the Melegnano junction, Trucazzano, Caleppio and Settala in the area between the Eastern bypass and A35 motorway and Stradella and Broni at the Pavia interchanges on the A21 motorway.
Until a few years ago, in fact, the main objective of company logistics was only to measure the size of, organise and manage the warehouses inside the plants, while today a renewed philosophy of industrial organisation pushes companies to eliminate storage in production locations as much as possible and so favours the emergence of business parks.
By illustrating some of the projects carried out by AKNO in this sector, we intend to underline how its considerable experience in industrial construction is constantly put at the service of companies that want to create value for their workers and customers.
Traditional logistics parks
Some of the projects carried out by AKNO are business parks that we could define as “traditional”, despite their excellent planning, high level of structural and technical quality and special care for design and environmental protection.
As we shall see in the cases below, we can talk about structures that can be defined as “traditional” because they are zones entirely dedicated to logistics, with warehouses, offices and services directly linked to the needs of the flow of goods.
An example of this type of logistics park is the logistics hub that AKNO has created and manages in Stradella, where goods of major brands for traditional distribution and e-commerce converge. The central position of the Oltrepò Pavese area in relation to both the large cities of northern and central Italy and the major production areas of the country have made this avant-garde structure, built with an eye for the environment and design, a centre of unrivalled excellence in the logistics sector.
In the environmental sector, in fact, AKNO is committed to carrying out all its construction projects working with the LEED (The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) philosophy, the world standard that requires construction companies to use the best technologies on the market with regard to the use of alternative energy and waste reduction, constructing buildings that are as efficient and eco-sustainable as possible.
Another business park exclusively dedicated to logistics is that of Trucazzano, which occupies an area of about 30 thousand square metres in a single floor above ground, divided by an intermediate floor deck in the office area. The structures are made with some special features, such as glass roofs, which allow natural light to fully illuminate the interior, thus contributing to a significant saving in the cost of artificial lighting.
It must always be remembered that a logistics park, like any other building work, is firstly an investment for those who commission it and then for those who buy and use it. It is an investment, however, that can only be truly successful if the management costs are kept under strict control and the efficiency of the structure is guaranteed, both by limiting energy consumption and through careful management of general services, such as cleaning, maintenance and safety.
Not only logistics: AKNO hotels
As we have seen, a business park is, in fact, a fenced space where you enter through a single entrance guarded 24 hours a day and that can contain structures intended for different uses.
In some AKNO logistics parks, the purely logistical facilities, such as warehouses for storing goods and offices for workers in logistics and management units, are flanked by green areas, hotels, restaurants, swimming pools, gyms and shops.
Settala is one of our business parks with integrated accommodation and commercial facilities. In addition to large areas dedicated to logistics in the strict sense, we find the Hotel Ibis Styles Milano Est, a modern, elegant and refined hotel to invite employees and customers to stay overnight and also to organise business meetings in a high-level environment, enhancing the image of the companies that use it.
Also in Carpiano, near the Melegnano motorway junction, AKNO has created an integrated business park. It contains the AN Hotel Milano Sud Melegnano, with 52 elegant rooms and a gym for guests, business premises and restaurants in a carefully tended green area with large relaxation areas that improve the quality of life for those who work or stay in this facility.
In our opinion, it is important to underline a company’s reputation is also built through its image and the idea of care that it can offer its employees and clients. Looking after workers and customers means, among other things, allowing them to work and stay in high quality structures that are made with design elements, that are efficient and set in pleasant green areas. On the other hand, it is now common knowledge to all the best entrepreneurs and managers that a well-kept work environment is a very important stimulus to obtain, first of all, a high level of personal satisfaction and, as a result, better work productivity and greater company loyalty.
