Stemilt Growers implements automated storage for its new DC

As a family-owned and operated business, Stemilt Growers grows and distributes a variety of fresh fruits, including apples, pears, cherries, peaches and nectarines. With a legacy of innovation and sustainability within the farming industry, the company is known for providing outstanding service, along with a wide selection of products, including unique, trademarked apples, such as Rave and Piñata.

However, despite this range of product offerings, when a natural disaster struck one of Stemilt’s three warehouses, the company decided to consolidate inventory into one automated DC. As it planned for the new DC, Stemilt identified the need for an automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) that could provide dense storage of heavy pallets of fresh fruit, while also delivering the throughput required to support all distribution from a single facility.

“We knew we wouldn’t realize the full benefits of automation if we were manually moving products from packing to palletizing,” says Gordy Schulze, distribution manager at Stemilt. “We needed to think about product movement holistically, and that meant finding a way to link the two facilities.”

He adds, “We visited several food and beverage sites using PowerStore and were impressed by its density, speed and ease of use. Once we confirmed that PowerStore could handle the weight of our pallets and meet our throughput requirements, it was clear it was the right choice for us.”

PowerStore is a high-density shuttle system for pallet warehousing. In addition, Stemilt’s modular system is sized to hold more than 13,000 pallets across five levels with 25 RowCarriers and 25 AisleCarriers. And, the PowerStore SupplyCarrier ensures efficient and reliable inbound and outbound pallet delivery at high speeds. Three quality control stations, meanwhile, were designed into the system to eliminate the need for drivers to manually deliver pallets to quality inspectors.

“The combination of consolidating and automating our distribution operation has allowed us to realize significant cost savings and productivity improvements,” Schulze adds.

One of the metrics the customer service-focused DC monitors closely is truck load times. After the move to the new automated DC, load times were cut to one-third of what they were previously.

“Trucks don’t want to sit on the dock any longer than they have to,” Schulze says. “The faster we can get them loaded and on the road, the happier they are and the better the service we can provide to our customers.”

Quality inspectors also saw a significant increase in productivity while using the automated system, compared to having pallets delivered to them by forklifts. Inspectors at each of the three quality stations can now inspect up to 40 pallets an hour.

The complex process of managing freshness across a range of different varieties of fruits has also been simplified. And, according to Schulze, the new automated DC has also reduced stress on employees and managers by simplifying processes and normalizing work hours.

Another benefit of the system is its energy efficiency, which supports Stemilt’s sustainability objectives. It is designed for efficient operation, and the modular design provides users flexibility to shut down modules when they’re not needed.

“We have a few slower periods during the year, based on growing seasons. With PowerStore, we can shut down modules to improve energy efficiency during those periods,” Schulze explains.

Furthermore, the modular design of the system provides a well-defined growth path.

“We have the storage we need now, and the system is meeting all of our expectations,” Schulze says. “But we also left space around the system so we can easily expand storage capacity in the future as we continue to grow.”

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