Logistical challenges in freezing temperatures
With its facilities for packaging, cooling, freezing and storing, Grolleman Coldstores is a logistics service provider for the food industry. For more than 15 years now, one of their branches has been on the Ecofactorij business park in Apeldoorn. Over the past years this location has undergone various transformations, the result of which is an extremely innovative, sustainable and automated storage and buffer location with space for 42,000 pallets.
High-rise warehouse with crane in at Grolleman Coldstore.
The coldstore warehouse of Grolleman
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Surface area: |
approx. 3,876 m2, 27,5 metres high |
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Locations: |
16.320 Cheppallets |
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Racking: |
8 isles of 101 metres |
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Number of cranes: |
8 straight-line cranes |
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Capacity: |
400 pallets per hour |
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Completion: |
mid-2019 |
Grolleman consciously chose a hybrid solution. Part of their warehouse has mobile racks.
Flexible thanks to automation
The freezing temperatures in Grolleman's warehouse pose huge challenges. "All the logistics systems have to perform under extremely low temperatures", says technical manager Peter Kieftenbelt. "The cold in combination with the intensive use of the systems means that the lifespan of a conventional warehouse solution is much shorter." For this reason, the company went in search of an automated solution that was able to increase the processing capacity and efficiency, even under these conditions.
Over the past years, Lalesse Logistic Solutions has realised multiple warehouse solutions for the logistics service provider. Racks and cranes in an existing cold store in 2017, an extension with mobile racks in 2018 and a completely new rack-supported building with eight automatic pallet cranes in 2019. "The 42,000 pallet spaces have a high utilisation rate, depending on the world market in meat. This is subject to constant change, which means that we have to be extremely flexible in our function as buffer storage."
Low stress, high assurance
The existing warehouse has been in operation for almost two years. According to Kieftenbelt, the solution has many benefits. "Not only with regard to capacity and efficiency, but for our people especially. The result is a less hectic workspace. People are able to carry out their work better because the systems operate continuously. We are able to cope with much larger numbers, with the same number of people. Handling is much faster without it being stressful. In this respect, automation is a great solution."
