APC is now the Australasian distributor for RadioshuttleTM, the original satellite racking solution. Combining high storage density with improved pallet and pick face access, the Swedish-made solution features 30 years of experience and innovation.
APC Storage has partnered with Radioshuttle TM for the past 20 years to bring the very first satellite racking solution to warehouses across Australia and New Zealand. RadioshuttleTM was developed in the early 1990’s and the current version on the market is the sixth generation of the machine.
“RadioshuttleTM has been around longer than anyone else in the market, with more than 30 years of development and design in the solution,” Andrew Gordon, General Manager at APC Storage says.
While many others have established their own satellite storage product, there is great benefit in working with a product that has so much experience and development behind it.
“The RadioshuttleTM offers a robust design and construction. One of the major benefits of the solution is the ability to improve density in a storage facility. In a warehouse, aisles often take up more than 60 per cent of the floor space because of the need to provide an access aisle at every rack face, but as RadioshuttleTM enables deep storage, there is a great opportunity to better utilise the space available.
Satellite storage is suitable when there are many pallets of the same product being stored. When you don’t need individual pallet selectivity as there are multiple pallets of the same stock keeping unit (SKU), this solution offers the most efficient option. Each level of RadioshuttleTM racking can have a different SKU so, whilst the density is increased, there is still good availability to the products being stored.
The cold storage industry is a perfect example where density is crucial to minimising cost and carbon footprint. It costs a lot of money to keep an area cold, so if you can reduce the amount of aisle space you will be able to reduce your energy bills and the impact on the environment.
In many warehouses, the top 20 selling SKU’s make up 80 per cent of the volume, so a denser storage system makes sense. If you have multiple pallets of the same SKU, then this system can not only offer better use of storage space but also significant efficiency gains.
The RadioshuttleTM offers First In – Last out or First In – First Out applications and improves the put away and pick operation speeds. If you are usually unloading a truck and putting pallets into a warehouse you have to travel to every floor location within the warehouse. With the RadioshuttleTM, you have less forklift travel time as you are not having to drive to as many locations. During the time that it takes for the RadioshuttleTM to put a pallet away or to retrieve a pallet, the forklift operator is already on the next cycle. The two machines are working in sync.
By working this way, once an operation is managing around 2,000 pallets, the operation can achieve up to 200 per cent more pallet density in the same area with RadioshuttleTM. The speed of the warehousing operation can also be up to 15 per cent faster.
This is evident in the satisfaction that many of APC’s customers have once they install the machines. Many of our clients keep coming back and expanding their operation with additional RadioshuttleTM racking or planning new facilities with the RadioshuttleTM system at the core of the design. Our clients are impressed with the quick return on their investment.
Benefits over block stacking include higher density as you are able to store more pallets vertically than most block stacking arrangements. There is better access to more SKU’s and reduced product and pallet damage. The RadioshuttleTM also provides key safety benefits over other storage systems. The operator does not need to enter the rack and this is where most damage occurs in typical drive in rack and other multi deep storage systems which can result in personnel injury, product damage and rack damage.
The RadioshuttleTM can also be suitable for smaller operations, with a recent customer of APC’s installing the solution for less than 400 pallets. “They were convinced it was a compelling case for their operation and made the investment. This is exciting for us as we know that the barrier to entry for automation is lowering and it’s becoming an option for smaller operations” Andrew says.
The RadioshuttleTM is battery operated and APC offer a number of different types, depending on the requirements of the operation. Battery types include both lithium and liquid gel and we offer long battery cycles with short charge times to ensure that the RadioshuttleTM can keep operating 24/7.
RadioshuttleTM has been installed by more than 1,500 businesses worldwide and moves more than 70,000 pallets every hour, every day. APC has recently completed projects in Australia for food production facilities, mining or bulk chemicals and packaging stores, as well as currently working on one of the largest cold store projects in New Zealand.
Contact APC for more information about RadioshuttleTM.