Cool dock solution for food supplier

A combination of efficiency and safety measures keep things cold and safe for a perishable foods distributor.

By Jeff O'Neill, Associate Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 9/1/2005

After serving Texas with perishable food items for over one hundred years, Ben E. Keith Inc. needed to expand its warehouse cold storage and upgrade its 33 docks.

Keith Pittman, frozen receiving manager for the Fort Worth, Texas based food distributor, says the company had not only outgrown its old facility, but was searching for methods to deliver its items in a fresher environment.

"We load all outbound trucks from the entire facility to protect the 'cold chain,' " Pittman explains. The "cold chain" ensures that not only perishable food stuffs, but all dry grocery as well makes its way to the cold docks to escape the sweltering Texan heat.

New dock doors, vehicle restraints and updated dock seals (TKO Doors, 262-820-1217) have made for a cool and safe shipping environment at the facility. The restraints especially add a safety element to the facility. "We never want a vehicle pulling away from the dock until we're good and ready," says Roy Markham, operations manager at the Fort Worth site.

The dock doors are central to the docks' new efficiencies. When jostled by a forklift, traditional dock doors became misaligned, creating gaps for cool air loss. The new doors will jump their track and can be reinstalled in minutes, without bent corners and ensuring minimal loss of cool air.

Gaskets for tight seal are installed on the door panel instead of the wall or floor to avoid damage during loading, Pittman notes. A tight seal also prevents the formation of condensation, keeping the floor dry and free of dangerous liquid slicks.

Vertical storing dock levelers provide a safe passageway into the docks and serve as a steel barrier when in storage for the dock doors. The levelers are designed with structural channel beams and high-tensile strength steel safety tread plates.

"Our mission is to deliver a fresher, colder product to the consumer," Pittman says. And this upgrade ensures Ben E. Keith Inc. is up to the task.