Goscor Lift Truck Company has supplied Imperial Cold Logistics with a range of material handling equipment for its new, state of the art, revolutionary cold storage Distribution Centre in Linbro Park, North East of Johannesburg. ICL DC Manager Brink Heinemann, says that the newly engineered and designed warehouse can do under one roof what others do under several. “This facility represents a significant increase in efficiency and productivity and will help us give our customers an even better service,” he said.

The facility has a range of temperatures throughout its various chambers. “Temperatures range from ambient outside to the despatch and receiving area which is 0⁰C - +5⁰C, onto the six central storage chambers which are at -25⁰C, a further chamber at -30⁰C and then a specially designed chilled area which is also 0⁰C- +5⁰C,” says Heinemann.

He explains that the new structure required 371km of heated wire for under-floor heating which is virtually continuous throughout the building. “Firstly we had to fly the wire in from Europe, which was a challenge in itself, and then this and to be laid, covered by soil, polystyrene and concrete, then a further ½- metre of special insulation and then more concrete. “Given that the warehouse is a gigantic 250m x 110m the magnitude of laying a floor to such exacting requirements cannot be over- played,” he says.

In total GLTC supplied 48 vehicles to the new facility, which included 12 Crown ESR Heated cab Reach Trucks to work at temperatures from 0⁰C- 30⁰C; 8 Crown 3-wheeled counter-balance lift trucks with a lift height of 4825mm – used to offload trucks in the dispatch area; 8 x GPC 3040 low-level order pickers and 20 x WT3040 powered pallet trucks.

An important part of the deal included the supply of a fully equipped BHS Global battery bay with over 140 batteries.

“BHS equipment is of the highest quality enabling us to provide our customers the best engineered solutions for battery management, which significantly improves productivity and profitability in the warehouse,” says GLTC Sales Director, Patrick Barber. He adds that safety, efficiency, and space savings in the lift truck battery changing area is one of Imperial’s highest priorities and Goscor was able to meet their demands in this regard.” The battery bay includes a triple-stack battery extractor and support equipment including electrical distribution systems, battery fleet management systems, battery room ventilation and a whole lot more.

Heinemann says that the decision to use Goscor was a result of various factors of which Total Cost of Ownership was the key consideration. Goscor’s impeccable track record throughout the Imperial Group confirmed that this objective was achievable.

“We know the excellent quality and reliability of GLTC’s range of products. When you combine that with competitive pricing and the enthusiasm of an outstanding service organisation the purchase decision is made much easier. An on-site Goscor technician completes the total service offering and ensures that the total package is managed efficiently” says Heinemann. He adds that in a DC which operates between 30 000 and 52 000 pallet positions (depending on configuration), efficiency is the key factor and the operation of and service on the material handling equipment is fundamental to this equation. The operation of this DC comprises getting the goods in raw bulk from the primary producers to various manufacturers and then bringing back the finished goods from them.

Thereafter ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ distribution occurs. The former is the bulk distribution of finished goods to one distributor and then “secondary distribution”, which is the distribution of “burst loads” – that is finished goods to a number of retailers. Currently the primary distribution transport is outsourced within the group (insourced) while the secondary distribution is done with the DC’s own fleet of about 80-100 vehicles of between 4 and 14 tons.

“This is a world-class facility and leads the way in this country in terms of the future of cold storage distribution. Goscor is extremely proud to have been chosen as the preferred supplier of the materials handling equipment to the DC and we look forward to a long and productive relationship with Imperial and its team,” concluded Barber.