SSI Schaefer has modified existing pallet racking installation to include live storage to support the continued logistics and service improvements at MACO Door & Window Hardware (UK) Ltd.
MACO, leading manufacturers of door and window hardware, house over £2 million worth of dedicated stock within its high-tech, high-bay warehouse unit in Sittingbourne, Kent, designed and installed by SSI Schaefer in 2000. Having previously worked with SSI Schaefer to supply its warehouse complete with PR600 pallet racking, MACO were confident in calling Schaefer back in.
Originally installed for selling bulk quantities to their customer base, MACO is driving change to provide customer oriented, service focussed supply, offering flexibility to a larger number of customers. Requiring a higher density storage system for box picked items (hardware for windows and doors), previously picked by the pallet, a revised operation was needed to fulfil the orders. Following a trial of MACO's products at SSI Schaefer's demo room in Andover, KDR Live Storage was chosen as the preferred solution.
KDR is a versatile live storage shelving system - secure and stable upright frames combined with reinforcing cross beams form a 'racking frame' to house entire flow bed units. The flow beds can be modified quickly and without screws using adjustable hooks.
In this instance, the KDR flow beds were easily incorporated into the existing pallet racking system allowing the previous ground floor bulk pallet locations to be used as push back storage. The number of ground floor manual picking locations has increased with a greater depth of stock for each. Full pallet locations are still maintained at higher levels.
Kevin Whiting, Managing Director, and MACO UK, said: "Having used SSI Schaefer to supply the original pallet racking, we were confident of their known expertise in this area. We urgently needed a solution that continued to cater for our bulk pick orders whilst managing our smaller orders efficiently - the KDR system, attached directly to the pallet racking allows us to effectively pick and pack one or two boxes only from a particular storage location without having to enter the bulk storage high bay area."