Everything Organic Valley touches has a shade of green to it. That includes its new 80,000 square foot distribution center in Cashton, Wisc. America’s largest cooperative of organic farmers equipped this facility with an 80-foot automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) as the centerpiece.

“The AS/RS will allow this facility to have a smaller footprint than typical warehouses,” says Louise Hemstead, Organic Valley’s chief operating officer. “We want to use as few land resources as possible. We also expect the system will enhance our inventory management and virtually eliminate product loss due to expiration dates.”

The AS/RS (Westfalia, 717-764-1115) allows for space savings, improved employee working conditions and customer service, less refrigeration and electricity usage, fewer spare parts resulting in less waste, cranes that regenerate power as operated, and improved shipping flexibility. And, the high-density automated warehouse is 66,000 square feet—40% smaller than the conventional warehouse originally proposed.

Organic Valley built the rack-supported warehouse—their first automated facility—based on this denser storage design. The AS/RS consists of three storage retrieval machines (SRMs) with two servicing the refrigerated area (35-40°F) and one servicing the frozen area (-10°F).

The 80-foot tall AS/RS has 11 levels and stores 12,000 loads of products, multi-deep. Organic Valley also has the ability to alter its storage lane depths and store up to 11 deep on the upper 10 levels if needed.

The bottom level of the rack structure is for picking. Food safety inspections will also occur on the lower level, as one of each product on a pallet is taken away and tested. The second level has more than 900 linear feet of conveyors to keep the products moving throughout the DC.

The primary function of the new DC is to warehouse and distribute the co-op’s fluid milk products from the Midwest, as well as its national specialty products.

“Until now, Organic Valley has handled distribution through multiple facilities,” says Hemstead. “Housing our distribution under one roof allows us to gain both environmental and operational efficiencies.”