Storepro and PHS Innovate launch four-way pallet shuttles
Inside the Foodstuffs South Island frozen distribution centre in Hornby, there are no forklifts and, most of the time, no people. More than 6,000 pallets sit in deep-lane racking at −25°C, stored and retrieved lights-out.
“The air is hypoxic, too low in oxygen for fire to start, so no sprinklers are needed,” says PHS Innovate sales manager Manny Roth. “This is the future of warehousing, already running in New Zealand.”
The turnkey facility was built by PHS Innovate and Storepro. Roth says the partnership’s four fully automated warehouse projects cover more than 37,000 pallet positions, including Coolpak Coolstores in Rolleston, nearing completion, and Talley’s in Ashburton.
With more than 120 semi-automated shuttles across 20-plus sites, Storepro regional sales manager Marc Padman says the partnership has delivered close to 100,000 automated pallet positions over a decade. Storepro handles the racking and PHS Innovate the automation, delivering projects from concept to completion.
Now shuttles turn corners
The partnership’s projects to date have used two-way shuttles, which travel in and out of one lane and need a crane, shuttle mover or forklift to change lanes.
“When you’re storing large volumes of the same product and need high throughput, two-way systems using cranes or shuttle movers are hard to beat. However, the crane or mover becomes the backbone and the whole system is designed around it,” says Padman.
Roth says that the new PHS four-way shuttle removes that backbone. It turns on the spot and runs across the rack to any lane, while self-loading lifts move it between levels.
“With no forklift aisles and a shuttle just 126 mm high, the same building can hold up to double the pallets of a conventional forklift store,” he says.
If one shuttle stops for servicing, he says the others can route around it. The rail grid works around columns, low roofs and awkward footprints, bringing automation to buildings that could not accommodate a crane.
“A turnkey, fully automated four-way shuttle system with its own warehouse control software, designed, installed and commissioned by PHS Innovate, fits well in the New Zealand market. Automation no longer means building a new warehouse. It can be designed to fit the building you already have,” says Roth.
Padman adds: “A four-way store is a solid block of steel with rails running both ways, built to millimetre tolerances and New Zealand’s seismic standards. That’s where Storepro’s experience counts.
“On a new site, we design the system first and size the building around it. In an existing one, we engineer around the slab and columns. Either way, get the racking and seismic design right, and the shuttles can do what they’re built to do.”
He says labour savings are real, but the bigger return is usually space. Up to double the capacity can defer a new build, bring external storage in-house or turn two sites into one.
“No forklifts means far less damaged racking and product, while lights-out running and fewer door openings cut refrigeration costs. Stock stays accurate and the store runs around the clock.”
Sponsored content: For more information phone Storepro on 0800 722 587 or PHS Innovate on 09 834 2700.