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Article: Towers of power: inside, high-tech material handling systems move pallets at light speed.
- Article from:
- Food Logistics
- Article date:
- June 15, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Cygnus Business Media. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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You don't see too many fully-automated high-bay warehouses (HBWs) in North America, thanks to the abundance of land and availability of employees, but they're very common in Europe--especially for manufacturers and retailers of food and beverage products.
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The tallest HBWs can soar more than 100 feet, housing hundreds of thousands of SKUs of dry and/or refrigerated product. Unmanned stacker cranes, under the direction of a sophisticated warehouse management system (WMS), quickly, quietly and accurately move pallets in and out of racks.
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These systems can move more than 5,000 pallets a day, ...