Sometimes the warehouse comes as a bit of an afterthought. That's exactly what happened when British measurement firm Renishaw was looking to erect a new U.S. headquarters building and adjacent warehouse in Illinois.

As it turned out, the warehouse has a steeply angled roof, low hung air conditioning units and columns that break the storage area into small quadrants not suitable for traditional shelving, racking, or lift trucks. Ceiling height in one-third of the warehouse is limited to less than 7 feet.

Renishaw has been consistently experiencing double digit growth. The company needed to find a storage solution that would serve them now and for several years to come. They found their answer in horizontal carousels. Three units were squeezed into an area between a wall, the heating/ventilating/air conditioning units, and the sloping ceiling of the facility. The carousels provide the dense storage required for the tight space, reduce labor requirements, improve handling, and make possible more accurate order filling.

Items are picked from the carousels into shipping cartons staged on rolling carts. One person performs both picking and packing, which saves labor costs. A 14-foot-wide lift platform helps shorter workers reach upper storage locations. The lift also has an attachment so that the rolling cart can be raised along with the worker.

New software additionally allows the carousels to interface with the company's order entry systems, reducing paperwork and increasing picking accuracy. Proper slotting of products within the carousels has also increased capacities beyond original estimates, extending the useful life of the warehouse.