About Grupo Familia
The company, founded in 1958 in the
Colombian city of Medellin, was initially
called Urigo and focused on the importation of toilet paper from the United States.
The first 'Familia' toilet paper was put on the
market in 1966.
Since then, Grupo Familia has not stopped
growing and has become a leading brand in
the sector. At present, it has seven production plants, three distribution centers and
three warehouses that are responsible for
managing the seven brands owned by the
company. With its various lines and variety
of products, Grupo Familia offers personal care and hygiene solutions to more than
20 countries.
Needs and the solution presented
by Mecalux
The incessant growth experienced in recent
years by Grupo Familia meant the company
would need a warehouse capable of handling a lot of SKUs and, in turn, reduce logistics costs. To do so, Grupo Familia entrusted
Mecalux to construct a high-rise clad-rack
warehouse where automation would play a
fundamental role.
In 2011, the first part of the warehouse was
built: three, 102’ high stacker cranes capable of handling over 7,400 pallets. Thus,
the new Grupo Familia warehouse became
one of the first automated installations in
Colombia.
A few years later, and without interrupting
warehouse activity at any time, it has expanded capacity by 9,480 pallets thanks to
the placement of three additional storage
aisles. In addition, the racking in these three
new aisles is a bit taller: reaching 113’ high.
To complete the operation, a recirculating
conveyor has also been introduced that allows the management of inputs coming
from production and from outside, as well
as direct dispatches from the warehouse.
With this solution, the Grupo Familia installation has achieved a high storage capacity
and obtained a greater flow of inputs and
outputs, allowing them to be at the forefront of logistics within the tissue and personal hygiene products sector.
