Animal feed producer gets high-density storage solution

Skretting, a leader in the production and supply of animal feed, has commissioned AR Racking to fully optimise the floor space of its new 2,400 sq m warehouse in Cojóbar (Burgos, Spain) with high-density storage. The new warehouse is located next to the plant dedicated to the production of feed for aquaculture and attached to the one for the production of pet food.

AR Racking installed two different storage solutions for the Dutch multinational, both designed for high-density compact storage.

On the one hand, the warehouse has the shuttle system with capacity to store 2,953 europallets of finished product. It is a semi-automated solution that uses motorised pallet shuttles to transport the load autonomously inside the racking.

On the other, drive-in compact pallet racking systems are designed to store 594 europallets of auxiliary material.

“Our logistics capacity has been greatly increased with this new installation, which will help consolidate our position as leaders in the sector. We are very happy to have a warehouse equipped to operate in a very agile way and that takes advantage of every square metre,” said Skretting’s management.

Mikel Bilbao, Northern Region Sales Executive at AR Racking, added: “The semi-automated shuttle solution is ideal for a continuous flow of goods required by Skretting with its finished product. Rotation of auxiliary materials was not a primary factor, so we opted for a solution that would make the most of the space dedicated to those goods with Drive In compact pallet racking systems.”

Skretting belongs to the multinational Nutreco, a global leader in animal feed. Skretting is present in 18 other countries on all continents. Founded in 1899 and with its HQ in Stavanger, Norway, its aquaculture feed production capacity reached 2.4 million tonnes in 2020. Skretting España manufactures and supplies innovative and sustainable nutritional solutions for the aquaculture and pet industry.

WATCH A VIDEO OF THE PROJECT HERE

 

Clad-rack warehouse system for Spanish dairy company

García Baquero, a well-known Spanish company with an international presence in more than 60 countries dedicated to the production and distribution of dairy products, has improved its intralogistics with a clad-rack warehouse for pallets installed by AR Racking in Ciudad Real, Spain.

The new warehouse has 36m-high racking which, apart from storing the load, is part of the structure of the building supporting the external enclosures. The main characteristic of clad-rack warehouses is that the racking is part of the building structure, thus fully exploiting the space. García Baquero’s new warehouse, covering 1,080 sq m, is equipped with a stacker crane to handle the goods.

AR Racking, a company that specialises in industrial storage systems, worked on this project with a European engineering company to integrate automated elements in the racking structure. The new centre is also designed to store refrigerated products so “the structure has AR Racking 100% galvanised racking that offers ideal corrosion resistance for this type of environmental conditions”, explained Juan Francisco Contreras, AR Racking Project Manager.

According to Diego Medina, Technical Manager at García Baquero, “this new automated warehouse will help us to improve our daily operating performance and our logistics efficiency. We are delighted to have a structure perfectly suited to the characteristics of our product and this large load capacity.”

“The clad-rack warehouse is the most suitable solution for high-bay storage. We worked painstakingly on the planning of the installation phases and carried out an exhaustive follow-up to ensure the project would be completed as planned and strictly meet the customer’s storage needs,” explained Bernardo Sopeña, AR Racking Sales Engineer.

Bullet Express equipped to go the extra miles

Bullet Express, the Glasgow-based international logistics, transport and storage company, has installed 3.5 miles of pallet racking in its new 30,000 sq ft storage logistics facility in the city. Laid end to end, the racking is long enough to stretch from the storage facility at 2129 London Road, Glasgow, to George Square in the heart of Scotland’s largest city.

The new racking, manufactured by Spanish specialist AR Racking and installed by local installation experts, Rackit Ltd, means that the facility is now fully operational only two months after Bullet Express received the keys to the building.

The new storage facility:

Represents a seven-figure investment from Bullet Express
Can hold 5,000 pallets
Increases Bullet Express’s capacity by 25% to 26,000 pallets
Has 20 rows of high-capacity racking, creating 364 storage bays stacked seven layers high
Operates 10 aisles
Has a narrow aisle configuration to accommodate Aisle Master forklift trucks

Bullet Express’s creation of the new storage facility reflects a surge in demand from both existing and new customers for storage services. This is in response to tighter consumer delivery demand following a 40% rise in online shopping due to Covid-19 lockdowns. The new facility will result in the creation of up to 10 new jobs initially.

David McCutcheon, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Bullet Express, said: “Demand from existing and new customers for storage space close to their customers is at unprecedented levels and investing in this high-capacity racking means that we can accommodate their needs, offering an end-to-end service. So much so that the facility is already close to reaching its capacity with new business wins from blue-chip customers in the retail grocery sector.

“I’m full of admiration for the service we’ve received from AR Racking, Rackit and Douglas Gillespie Plant, whose high-lift plant was used throughout the installation. I’m proud, too, of Bullet Express’s own team who have moved heaven and earth to get this installation completed in record time.”

Pallet storage and pick solution improves efficiency

SEC Storage has designed and installed a highly efficient pick and pallet racking storage solution at Midlands-based Nero Pipeline Connections, ensuring improved pick operations through swift replenishment of stock held in the additional pallet locations.

Nero Pipeline Connections is a market-leading distributor of stainless pipeline products and has been specialising in the supply of high-quality pipe fittings and valves for over 30 years, with a broad portfolio of products suitable for commercial and industrial environments.

Its warehouse facility had some existing racking in place which it had steadily expanded as the company grew. However, this offered Nero mainly pick locations and only limited pallet storage capacity. The racking was also only 4m high and, with the building offering 9m of height capacity, it was only utilising 50% of the available storage space.

Nero needed to increase both its pick areas and pallet locations, which would act as replenishment stock for tote locations. The increase to 630 pallet locations designed and installed by SEC Storage comprising adjustable pallet racking with timber decking and anti-collapse mesh, now allows Nero to hold considerably more bulk stock, ready to replenish the 6000+ tote locations for picking, which are situated directly below the pallet racking, as and when required.

The operation benefits from the use of a reach truck for all pallet movements, and the manual pick process has been improved considerably as all stock is front-facing, providing quicker replenishment as well as 100% selectivity with pick options from either side.

The project further benefited from a finance scheme via Systems Finance, which was able to source a favourable, tax-friendly payment option via CBILS (Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme), a Government scheme provided as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This offered attractive terms for Nero, with a strong ROI and one that turned a significant CAPEX project into a manageable, fixed monthly payment scheme.

Darryl Spencer-Hicks, Operations Director at Nero, commented: “Due to the significant ongoing growth of the business, we needed a quick solution to ensure the flow of stock remained unhindered. With this in mind, we contacted SEC to design and project manage the re-racking of the warehouse with the minimalist disruption to Nero. As with any large project, things change and it is how they are dealt with. SEC went to great lengths to rectify any delays and this meant our customers saw no impact on their orders.

“SEC worked alongside Toyota Material Handling to design the racking system to maximise the use of the warehouse space and worked with Systems Finance to deliver a cost-effective finance package with us.”

 

 

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