Logistics system ensures delivery of fresh produce just in time
Jan van der Lugt and Izaäk Havenaar (Haluco) and Wim Rodenburg (BGB) were very pleased with the response to their invitation. From 10.00 a.m. the CEOs of Haluco and many of its staff took groups of visitors on guided tours of the new facilities. They told guests about the special challenges that the new building of an international vegetable exporter like Haluco has to face every day. "Any company wishing to guarantee customers freshness and quality always has to be up-to-date with the latest logistics and optimise processes constantly. This is why we opted to invest in a new building with a logistics system from Westfalia", says Havenaar, explaining the strategy behind the investment in the impressive complex.
Visitors were first taken to the new offices. They were fascinated by the huge trading centre as it looks like a stock exchange hall. Here Haluco sells goods for its over 70 allied producers every day. Whenever a deal takes place, the IT system simultaneously orders the goods from the warehouse and initiates the retrieval, order picking and loading process. No minute is wasted until delivery.
IT system controls storage and retrieval
Visitors were then led by Haluco staff through the new logistics centre via a bridge walkway. From above, customers, an interested audience and their families got a bird's-eye view of staff and technology working hand in hand to optimum effect: two transverse transport vehicles (TTVs) bring pallets, more than two and a half meters in height and laden with fresh vegetables, from the truck loading door to the high-bay warehouse via a fully automatic state-of-the-art materials handling system. The lock of the 13 metre high cold store area then opens, and one of the five storage and retrieval vehicles stores the pallet using a fully automatic process.
State-of-the-art IT controls identification of the pallets via bar codes. The vegetables remain in cold storage until an order from the trading centre initiates the loading process. Visitors could also watch the retrieval from storage: An SRV picks up an pallet that has been ordered from the storage channel and passes it on to the conveying system at the warehouse exit. The materials handling equipment ferries the pallet via a transverse transport vehicle to the dispatch area of the warehouse. The goods are then transported over the last few metres of the supply chain to the truck by a warehouse operative using a forklift. The entire process takes just short of six minutes.
The tour ended in the lounge area. Haluco had fitted out part of the new warehouse with tables, carpets and cloths in its corporate colour of violet. A caterer served finger food and vegetable cocktails to guests: they were now able to taste the freshness of Haluco's cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and carrots for themselves. Besides the caterers, the project partners were also on hand in the lounge, manning small exhibition stands. The cold store system manufacturers Van Kempen and Verhoef, the architect's office HD Projectrealisatie B.V. and Westfalia Logistics Solutions B.V. all presented the project from their own perspective.
Paulus Paulusma, Managing Director of Westfalia B.V., explained the technology to customers and an interested audience on the spot: "Nothing is greater proof of Westfalia's success than satisfied customers like Haluco. We are delighted that our storage system allows Haluco to enjoy error-free storage and retrieval, batch tracing and the highest availability possible for a warehouse system." Haluco’s CEO Havenaar could only agree with Paulusma during his visit to Westfalia’s exhibition stand: "Westfalia's storage system is crucial if we are to uphold our promise of freshness every day."
