Towering AS/RS Big Boost For U.S. Dairy
By Canadian Packaging Staff
General Software Westfalia Technologies
Keeping up with business growth that has virtually gone through the roof in recent years has recently prompted Germantown, Wis.-based dairy processor Gehl Foods, Inc. to respond in kind with an order for a towering AS/RS (automated storage and retrieval system) assembly from material handling systems manufacturer Westfalia Technologies, Inc. of York, Pa.
The high-density, multi-aisle AS/RS—running on the Savanna.NET Warehouse Management Software (WMS) system—is expected to boost the efficiency of Gehl’s 22-foot-high warehousing facility by maximizing the company’s storage space, while providing additional labor, energy and other cost savings.
Expected to be completed in the spring of 2011, the multi-aisle AS/RS design is based on Westfalia’s multiple-deep Satellite technology, which provides the ability to create a compact, six- and eight-pallet deep storage solution.
According to Westfalia, storing pallets three levels high in the non-rack supported building configuration will minimize construction and operating costs of the system, which will comprise conveyors, SRMs (storage retrieval machines, Satellite rack entry vehicles, and WMS interfaces.
Boasting sophisticated double-mast structural design, Westfalia’s fourth-generation SRMs—designed to provide faster operation and longer service life—are considered to be one of the heaviest-duty SRMs available in the marketplace.
For its part, Westfalia’s mutifunctional Savanna.NET WMS system will take care of all the material flow control, order management, report generation, logging and interfacing to Gehl’s host ERP (enterprise resource planning) system as it tracks all pallets throughout the operation—streamlining the process flow for fast and accurate order management.
Originally founded in 1896, Gehl Foods is one of North America’s leading producers of sterile, non-refrigerated dairy products, with its most popular products comprising various puddings, iced lattes, and cheese sauces that are served from the company’s patented Hot Top 2 dispenser in over 300,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada.
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