New mezzanine platforms, VRCs help Baker Distributing keep up

Vermont-based Baker Distributing carries a variety of alcoholic and nonalcoholic products and services for more than 1,200 retailers throughout Vermont. Ongoing SKU proliferation created an immediate need for more space, and by installing four industrial steel work platforms and two vertical reciprocating conveyors (VRCs) at its two facilities, the company avoided costly expansions.

“We were already heating the space, and we had room above us to expand,” says Gerry Couture, general manager of Baker Distributing. “Our industry is continually increasing SKUs and line extensions. You need more space, so these platforms allow us to better accommodate the trends in our industry.”

The initial plan was to expand the company’s north warehouse in Colchester. That facility had a limited footprint, so two mezzanine platforms were combined with a VRC and a variety of safety gates and guard rails (Wildeck, wildeck.com) to increase space for picking.

One platform is long and narrow at 14 x 127 feet and was built to fit alongside the building wall. The second platform measures 97 x 80 feet and is located in the pallet staging area in the back corner. The top of the narrow platform is used to house point-of-sale goods and displays. Baker relocated the small order picking operation on the second platform, freeing up valuable ground-level space for other functions.

The VRC can lift several thousand pounds in an enclosed platform and features a patented overload detection system to prevent jams, product spillage or equipment malfunction. In addition to the VRC, the mezzanine platform has two gates that allow pallets to be on- and off-loaded from a forklift.

“Having a VRC works great for us because we needed an apparatus to bring wine product down from the second level without disturbing the built pallet,” Couture says. “Coming down on a forklift wasn’t the answer, otherwise we’d lose product.”