Seafood Cold Storage Shuttle Project – Vinatech Australia
Problem
Seafood cold storage typically handles frozen products in relatively large batches, with inventory separated by product type, processing batch and dispatch schedule. The storage system therefore needs to provide sufficient capacity while keeping different batches clearly organised.
For this 2,000 m² cold storage warehouse, the customer needed to accommodate a high volume of frozen seafood within a limited refrigerated footprint. Conventional pallet storage would require more access aisles, reducing the amount of cold-room floor space available for inventory.
At the same time, the operation did not require every storage line to work simultaneously. Installing a dedicated shuttle for each line would therefore add equipment and investment beyond the actual operational requirement.
The customer needed a solution that could:
- Store frozen seafood efficiently in deep, batch-based lanes
- Increase usable capacity within the existing 2,000 m² cold room
- Reduce refrigerated floor space dedicated to access aisles
- Keep different products and batches clearly separated
- Reduce forklift penetration into deep storage lanes
- Support daily receiving and dispatch requirements
- Introduce shuttle automation without unnecessary equipment investment
The challenge was to find the right balance between storage density, batch management and the level of automation actually required by the operation.
Solution
Vinatech implemented a 2-Way Shuttle Racking System featuring 8 deep-storage lines operated by 1 shared shuttle.
Each storage line can be allocated to a specific seafood product or inventory batch. Pallets are stored several positions deep, consolidating larger quantities of similar products within compact storage blocks and reducing the need for conventional access aisles between every rack row.
A key feature of the project is the 8-line, 1-shuttle configuration. Rather than installing a dedicated shuttle for each line, a single shuttle can be transferred between the eight storage lines according to receiving, storage and dispatch requirements.
This provides shuttle-assisted pallet handling while keeping the level of automation appropriate for the actual warehouse throughput.
The configuration provides approximately 1,500 pallet positions within the 2,000 m² cold storage facility, with a racking height of approximately 6.5 metres.
Key project specifications include:
- Approx. 2,000 m² cold storage area
- Approx. 1,500 pallet positions
- Approx. 6.5 m racking height
- 8 deep-storage lines
- 1 shared 2-Way Shuttle
- Dedicated lanes for different seafood products and batches
- Reduced conventional access aisle requirements
- Shuttle-assisted pallet movement within deep storage lanes
The result is a relatively simple semi-automated configuration designed around the actual inventory and throughput requirements of the seafood cold store.
Outcome
The completed system enables approximately 1,500 pallets to be accommodated within the 2,000 m² refrigerated facility, equivalent to around 750 pallet positions per 1,000 m² of warehouse floor area.
More importantly, the shared-shuttle approach allows the customer to gain the operational benefits of deep-lane shuttle storage without requiring eight separate shuttle units.
The shuttle can be deployed to the line required for a particular product or batch, while forklifts operate primarily from the rack face rather than travelling deep into the storage lanes.
The project delivered:
- Approx. 1,500 pallet positions within 2,000 m²
- 8 deep-storage lines operated by 1 shared shuttle
- More compact storage of large frozen seafood batches
- Better separation of products and inventory batches
- Reduced refrigerated floor area required for conventional access aisles
- Reduced forklift penetration into deep storage lanes
- More efficient use of the available cold-room footprint
- A practical balance between storage density and automation investment
For the customer, the main advantage is not simply fitting more pallets into the cold room. The 8-line, 1-shuttle configuration provides a practical level of automation for batch-based seafood storage, allowing the warehouse to improve space utilisation while avoiding unnecessary equipment complexity.
Testimonial
“The shared shuttle system gives us a practical way to manage different seafood products and batches within the cold store. With one shuttle serving multiple storage lines, we can organise inventory more efficiently while making better use of the available refrigerated space without adding unnecessary automation equipment.”
– Cold Storage Operations Manager, Seafood Industry
Vinatech Australia – Pallet Racking & Industrial warehouse racking solutions
- Website: https://vinatech.com.au/
- Phone number: 0485 083 868
- Email: info@vinatech.com.au
- Address: 34 Paramount Bvd, Cranbourne West VIC 3977, Australia
