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52 DC VELOCITY OCTOBER 2014 www.dcvelocity.com
within racking. Frozen ice cream can be quite heavy, so
using pallets to hold product has proved to be both effective and space-efficient. The facility uses mainly dedicated
pallets to assure that products can be easily handled by
the automated system. Workers then select products from
these dedicated pallets to fulfill customer orders.
The new AS/RS sits in the same footprint as the old sys-
tem. “We just did not have the real estate to add on to the
building,” explains Prazak. “The new automation fits very
nicely in that 275- by 75-foot space.”
Although the footprint remains the same, the new
system holds much more product than its predecessor.
That’s because the roof was raised by 40 feet. The system
contains 7,720 storage locations in five aisles, each with a
fast-moving storage crane. Compared with the old system,
the new system operates more quickly, efficiently, and
reliably. And an operator no longer needs to ride along,
which has allowed those workers to be assigned elsewhere
in the facility. The entire system sits within a huge freezer
space, keeping the ice cream at a chilly 20 degrees below
zero Fahrenheit.
The company produces about 40 different ice cream
flavors at a time that are typically sold to the public in
half-gallon containers. It also produces ice cream products
in a variety of other packagings. In all, a total of about
250 stock-keeping units (SKUs) are held in the automated
storage system. Most will be there less than a month before
they’re selected for orders. Some ingredients are also stored
in the system.
In addition to the AS/RS, Daifuku Webb also supplied
two shuttle car systems to transport pallets to and from the
automated system and to nearby traditional racking, where
slower-moving SKUs are held. One loop is found on each
end of the five aisles. Six shuttle cars ferry products to the
input side of the AS/RS on about 400 feet of track. Here,
they drop off products to be picked up by the five AS/RS
cranes for putaway. Four additional shuttle cars handle
output duties on a loop consisting of over 300 feet of track.
Both systems also feed the stationary rack areas, which, like
the AS/RS, are housed within the large freezer warehouse.
The input end of the racks features an additional input/
output station on a second level. This gives the operation
the flexibility to process additional volumes during peak
periods and accommodate products coming from the other
two production plants. It also provides redundancy if one of
the main input or output stations is down for maintenance.
The new AS/RS is able to handle up to 250 pallets in and
out per hour, and it has provided the additional capacity
that Blue Bell Creamery needs now and for the future. On
top of that, it has reduced labor needs, which means fewer
people have to work in the freezer’s arctic conditions. “It
gave us the room to grow,” says Prazak. “It has also been
very reliable and gives us the throughput we need while
minimizing labor.”
PARTS PERFECT
It’s said that good things come in small packages,
and Phoenix Contact would certainly agree. The
German company is a worldwide manufacturer
of industrial electronics and control products,
most of which consist of small items. In order to
house all of those tiny parts and components, its
U.S. operations installed a miniload automated
storage and retrieval system at its manufacturing and distribution facility in Middletown, Pa.
The AS/RS, supplied by viastore systems, holds
finished goods manufactured in Middletown,
imported items for distribution in North and
South America, and raw materials used in production. In all, about 95 percent of the company’s stock-keeping units (SKUs) can be housed
in the system.
The four-aisle AS/RS was originally installed as
part of an expansion to the Middletown facility
that took place in 2008. Since then, the system
has been expanded and now boasts seven aisles
(with room to expand to 12) and more than 70,000 tote
storage locations. “Totes” is the key word here, as using
totes is vital to reducing human touches. “The whole [sup-
ply chain] system is designed around our totes,” says Lou
Paioletti, director of supply chain services. “We repack
virtually nothing.”
While some parts are manufactured in Middletown,
the vast majority of inventory comes from Germany.
