Gehl Foods selects Westfalia high density automated storage & retrieval system for warehouse
Feb 15, 2010
Gehl Foods, Inc. of Germantown, WI, has selected Westfalia Technologies, Inc. to design, build and install a High Density Automated Storage and Retrieval System (AS/RS) with Savanna.NET Warehouse Management Software (WMS) in the companys 300,000 square foot warehouse.
The buildings height clearance of just over 22 is a critical factor in the design. The AS/RS and WMS will maximise Gehl Foods storage space and provide significant operational savings in labor costs, energy and more.
A major player in the manufacture of quality dairy products for over a century, Gehl Foods, Inc. began as a three-room dairy in 1896 with the commitment to make new, and better, dairy products. By the 1950s Gehls was a popular household brand in the delivery of milk and dairy ingredients. Since, Gehls has traded its regional delivery business for new technology to produce sterile, non-refrigerated dairy products. Its leading efforts in sterile packaging have created a new category in foodservice: direct-from-the-pouch sauces, shelf-stable weight loss shakes and iced coffee beverages. Among their most popular products are puddings, iced lattes, and cheese sauces served from their patented Hot Top 2 dispenser in over 300,000 locations in North America.
The multi-aisle AS/RS design to be installed at Gehl Foods is based on Westfalias multiple deep Satellite technology, which provides the ability to create a compact, 6- and 8-pallet deep storage solution. Storing pallets 3 levels high in the 22 high density, non-rack supported building configuration minimizes construction and operating costs. Included in the AS/RS are conveyors, Storage Retrieval Machines (SRM), Satellite rack entry vehicles, and WMS interfaces. Westfalias fourth generation SRM design provides faster operation and longer life. Due to its sophisticated double mast structural design, it is one of the heaviest-duty SRM's available today.
Westfalias Savanna.NET Warehouse Management Software (WMS) will track all pallets throughout the system, streamlining flow for fast and accurate order management. Specifically, Savannas functionality for Gehls will include material flow control, order management, reports, logging and interfacing to Gehls host ERP system.
To be built in two phases, the Gehls Foods AS/RS is expected to be completed in the spring of 2011.
