Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. - New Cold Storage Distribution Center Increased Capacity, Improved Throughput, and Reduced Energy Consumption
Toyo Suisan Kaisha, Ltd. is a manufacturer of "Maru-chan" brand food products. Products include frozen seafood and instant noodles. In November 2009, the company opened the new Chubu cold storage distribution facility complete with an Automated Storage & Retrieval System (AS/RS).
Facility equipment includes AS/RS, sorting transfer vehicles, and mobile rack
The new Chubu distribution center was established to replace the 20 year old Nagoya refrigerated warehouse, which was facing a number of challenges: products were stored on the floor, capacity was limited, and products needed to move out of the warehouse faster than could be accomplished.
The new center is equipped with a unit load AS/RS and mobile rack. The storage/retrieval operations were further automated by introducing Sorting Transfer Vehicles (STVs) for the transportation of pallets from the unit load AS/RS to the consolidation area. "The unit load AS/RS in the new facility was the fifth system our company has purchased so the design of the new center was the result of our many years of know-how acquired in the refrigerated and frozen business," explains Keiji Sato, deputy director of the Nagoya refrigerated department.
Facility triples storage capacity and reduces C02 emissions by 1,000 tons per year
The first floor of the three-story building is used for loading and floor storage. The second and third floors house the unit load AS/RS and the mobile rack. Fast moving perishable products such as eggs and chilled foods are stored on the first floor, while ice cream is stored in the unit load AS/RS and other frozen foods are located in the mobile rack.
The new distribution center has a capacity of 32,000 tons with the unit load AS/RS holding half that capacity within 6,940 storage locations. The AS/RS has a maximum capacity of one million cases. The total storage capacity of the facility including the floor storage area is 15,185 pallets, which three times higher than the old facility. In the new facility, throughput was increased with the help of warehouse control software, which directs the movement of items into and out of the system. Results include quick and accurate order fulfillment. In addition, the new system requires only 14 workers, while the old conventional system required 30.
Toyo is also proud that the new facility uses natural refrigerant devices and light-emitting diode illuminations, and it features a rooftop garden. "The new facility reduces company output of CO2 emission of by 1,000 tons a year," relays facility manager Mr. Sato.
