Optimising Cold Stores

Across the globe, dedicated cold storage facilities are being planned or upgraded. With growing demand for refrigerated space to store a multitude of products, ranging from pharmaceuticals to perishables, it would seem to be a wonderful business opportunity for companies to consider.

But as investment in cold storage facilities are high, costing as much as 10 times the cost of an ambient warehouse, any prudent executive will want to find out, “How can the company get the best use of the cold store?”

Well, the short answer is to pack more in a given space by increasing the density of the warehouse and maximising the available height. Nothing does the job quite as well as an SSI SCHAEFER mobile racking system.

Clear advantage in mobile pallet storage racks

Basically, the system consists of banks of selective pallet racking mounted on a electrically driven mobile base, set on tracks embedded into the concrete floor. By limiting the number of service aisles, as each bank can have four to eight moveable racks, the system can significantly reduce the require storage footprint by as much as half.

For companies planning new facilities, they can maximise the advantage of mobile pallet racking by building high, as much of the cost is in the first 2 metres. The top beam can go over 14.5 metres high for those using reach trucks.

With current automation, picking is not compromised even with one aisle per block. At a touch of the remote control button, the aisle opens up giving order pickers 100% selectivity, much like any selective pallet racking system .Zone picking is also available with the standard aisle being separated into 2 or 3 order picking aisle With radio frequency controls on the material handling equipment, the racks can be moved immediately once the handling equipment leaves the aisle. As it takes less than a minute to reopen the next aisle, 25-30 pallet movements per hour is achievable. 

Weighing the costs

What about the cost you may wonder?  Needless to say, the mobile racking system will cost more than selective pallet racking, but this is offset by lower land and building cost as it occupies a much smaller footprint.  In places where land is at a premium, this can be considerable.

Further cost savings and space optimisation can be achieved with the latest SSI SCHAEFER heavy-duty carriage, which increases the industry standard load capacity from 24 tonnes to 32 tonnes per bay. This enhancement allows for the storage of heavier pallets and greater overall heights. Additionally, even heavier pallets can now be stored three-wide per bay, reducing the number of frame uprights and floor rails required — ultimately lowering both investment and installation costs.

Similarly there will be a reduction in operating costs, especially utility bills. Apart from savings from refrigeration, companies can cut down on lighting used. Aisle lighting can be fitted to the rack, which only lights up when the aisle is opened.

For the same number of pallet locations, it is estimated that a cold store with a mobile pallet racking system uses up to 50% less energy than that of a conventional cold store. At a time of high energy prices, which are not about to drop anytime soon, this can be substantial.

Modular and scalable, the mobile racking system is already the system of choice in cold stores in Europe. At a time of rising land and energy costs, it is a storage system companies around the globe may want to consider for their next cold store.