Northport Coolstores

PROJECT BRIEF

Northport Coolstores Managing Director Bruce Mulligan required a Satellite Racking solution for their staging coolstore which operates as both a frozen storage (minus 10 C) for Dairy (butter) and cool storage or chilled storage (Zero to +1 C ) for Kiwifruit. It would need to accommodate two different pallet sizes and weights while allowing for the critical airflow for the butter conditioning process while sorting of the Kiwifruit into specific batches ready for export. The racking had to be engineered for an existing 1960’s coolstore along with long service life and safety considerations.

PROJECT SOLUTION

APC Storage Technology semi-automated systems stores and retrieves pallets from multi deep racking using remote-controlled Radioshuttle® Satellites. The system does not require the fork hoist to enter lanes for storing and retrieval, reducing the handling time and the risk of accident or damage to the racking structure. The Radioshuttle™ system offers increased pallet storage that reduces operating costs and improves performance in the supply chain. APC Storage Technology’s solution for Northport accommodates both Butter pallets at 1275 - 1480kg and the Kiwifruit pallets at 1064 – 1132kg with 300 pallet locations. We have provided 1 bank of 15 lanes wise x 2 pallets high x 10 pallets deep to allow for critical air flow for the butter conditioning process. APC engineers used the highest engineering standards throughout our design and developed the racking to ensure the safety of staff and the stored pallets to meet and exceed all relevant NZ standards. The rack design has been future proofed in the event that Northport want to store Butter pallets on a dedicated Radioshuttle® machine which will allow them to increase the number of pallets stored in the racking system.