Breadcrumb
- Home
- case study pre pain
40% more loaded trucks per day
It has been eight years since bake-off supplier Pré Pain decided to automate their cold store. The choice for Lalesse pallet cranes ensures an efficient and future-proof warehouse to this day. Every day, tens of thousands of bread products are transported from the Oldenzaal site within Europe and beyond.
The Pré Pain warehouse
Number of cranes: straight-line cranes with forks or shuttles
Height: 13 metres
Number of pallet spaces:12,500
Completion: 2011
The innovative solution was the deciding factor for us.
Production, packaging and storage in-house
Mark van Duijse, Head of Expedition, has been working for Pré Pain for over 27 years. He explains: "In all these years we have grown from a single production line to an extensive factory with eleven production lines. We are able to produce 10,000 buns per hour per line, 24 hours a day." The bakery has specialised in bake-off products: bread that is still baked in the shop or at home. Production, packaging, storage and transport to supermarkets and wholesalers throughout Europe take place from the Oldenzaal site.
When the bread comes off the production line, it is packed in a box or bag. If it does not go to the customer fresh, it is stored in our own cold store. Depending on the product, it is stored for two to three days in the cold store, which operates fully autonomously with seven self-propelled pallet cranes.
High performance delivery
Van Duijse explains: "Our customers judge us on the quality of the product and the delivery performance: the quantities must be right and deliveries must be on time." Before the automatic coldstore was put into operation, a racking warehouse with two reach trucks was used. "The demand increased and we had to scale up. Automation was our starting point. Working efficiently: less manual work, more logical transport and fewer unnecessary actions."
In the tender for the project, Lalesse Logistics Solutions came out on top. Van Duijse continues: "The speed of delivery and the innovative nature of the solution played an important role. At the time, production did not have to be halted because the conventional part of the warehouse remained. Part of it was converted into the new warehouse, supplemented by a section of new building."
New tasks for employees
The arrival of the automated cold store has changed the work of the Pré Pain employees considerably. "It has become a more specialised job. The warehouse employee now sits behind the computer. Cameras allow them to keep an eye on the entire process. They solve any malfunctions remotely and there is more administrative work. The warehouse worker has become a logistics coordinator and our people found that a positive change." With 15 people in three shifts, the operation is kept running. The same number of employees as before: but instead of 30-35 trucks, 50 are loaded every 24 hours.
Changing market, cold store remains adequate
Despite changing market demands, the automated solution is still future-proof after eight years. Van Duijse concludes: "The increase in the prices of raw materials and gas and electricity, but especially also consumer behaviour, influence the operation of our warehouse. For example, the demand for our product is increasing in Germany and when the weatherman or weatherman issues a barbecue alert, we immediately increase our production. We make a forecast based on previous years and we are in almost daily contact with our customers about the expected demand. The in-house cold store provides us with a buffer function. We are still happy with the system and it offers us the opportunity to grow further."