Return on Investment (ROI) is becoming a more common concept in evaluating material handling equipment and storage solutions. Company owners and shareholders are asking ‘how can we fit MORE into LESS?”
In the Australian market, company executives are expecting more and more from their investment with greater density and increased retrieval speeds. One way to achieve this has been with a deep-lane storage solution, but historically this has been overlooked because it was economically impracticable – until now. Thanks to the latest generation of Stow’s pallet shuttle systems (sometimes referred to as satellite racking) this is now a genuine option.
The pallet shuttle system is ideally suited for companies storing a large number of items with a small number of SKUs, including cold storage (meat and beverages), agribusiness and large items.
The pallet shuttle system consists of a shuttle – specific rack and an automated mobile
shuttle. The shuttle is a self-powered device that runs on rails in the storage lanes to autonomously load and unload pallets. The only human intervention is via a remote control that is used to select the mode of operation and start/stop. The Stow Atlas system complies with the European FEM and Australian Standards, and the quality is assured to ISO 9001. All components have been thoroughly tested in specialised laboratories and are very cost-effectively produced in Stow’s fully automated manufacturing unit to a high – quality standard.
More and more companies are opting for automated storage solutions, such as shuttle racking to improve productivity with less manual handling required. Stow installed the Atlas Shuttle and selective pallet racking for Select Harvests, encompassing over 22,000 pallet positions. The Atlas shuttle is unique to Stow and Stow is one of the only storage manufacturers world-wide that manufactures their own pallet shuttle system in-house so it is fully integrated with Stow racking solutions.
As explained by Select Harvests’ Project Leader, “the Stow Atlas pallet shuttle is the best solution for us as it automatically picks up heavy pallets in a row and takes them to the desired destination. We opted for shuttle racking to maximize the area available in our warehouse. As we’ve had experience in the past with satellite systems, we know this solution works. We deal with many contractors in all aspects of our business. But I would say that our experience with Stow has them up there with our best major contractors … some who have worked with us for years.”
Stow’s Atlas II Shuttle System has considerable developments upon the original Atlas Shuttle design. The shuttles productivity and speed are increased ensuring maximum warehouse efficiency and productivity. Coupled with these product improvements are the smaller, more powerful and longer lasting 48v Lithium Yttrium batteries. These batteries have been developed to increase usable time up to 16 hours per battery recharge and decrease the batteries recharge time down to 3 hours.
Stow Australia has completed/is in the process of completing a number of Stow Atlas II Shuttle Installations for clients including:
- Gundagai Meat Processors in NSW
- Australian Lamb in Colac, Victoria
- Nolan Meats in Gympie, QLD
- Remedy Kombucha in Melbourne
- Fujitsu in Sydney
- WINC Stationary in Sydney and Melbourne
- Timberline Bathroom Products in Armidale, NSW
As a global manufacturer, quality and innovation is at the heart of the Stow brand. Averys Stow continues to invest heavily in automation and quality assurance processes. We are in the final testing phase for the Stow Atlas III, which has several new features and benefits, including:
- Precise DC brushless motors with integrated drives for better finetuning, fast and secure data communication and less maintenance
- Modular embedded PC with faster processing speed, improved connectivity, secure backups, simulation of various situations, onboard diagnostics and expandability for future needs
- 16 enhanced sensors, overhang detection, status lights and indicators for improved safety and operator usage
- Better protection and online charging of the batteries.
At Stow Australia, we provide industry-specific products and solutions. This includes high quality European designed and manufactured pallet shuttles, pallet racking and beams to bear heavy loads, multi-level mezzanine storage areas for small parts, variable sized racking for odd-shaped stock and deep lane storage solutions for parts that don’t need to be accessible at all times.
Are you searching for the most efficient deep-lane high density storage solution? Talk to the experts. For more information about our products and services, visit our website or call us on 1800 438 786.