LOCAL LIFE
Coles ’ giant automatic distribution centre
by Greg Martin
If he were alive today , Sir George James “ GJ ” Coles – he ’ s not , he ’ d be 139 years old – would have been gobsmacked !
Gobsmacked at the official opening on August 6 of Coles Supermarkets ’ gigantic fully Automated Distribution Centre ( ADC ) at Kemp ’ s Creek .
Old GJ , who founded the business in 1914 , would have been both amazed and proud of the achievements of those who followed him at the helm of Coles Supermarkets .
And mighty proud that Australian Prime Minister , Anthony Albanese , was chuffed in accepting an invitation to unveil a giant plaque to commemorate the occasion .
The PM served a similar role last year at the official opening of Coles ’ first ADC in
On the other side of the giant complex , Coles and WITRON staff applaud the PM and Leah Weckert ’ s expertise in getting the Automatic Distribution Centre up and running . Photo : Kathryn Johnston .
Australia at Redbank in Queensland .
Also in attendance were Coles Group chairman , James Graham , the group ’ s CEO , Leah Weckert , and all the way from its headquarters in Germany , WITRON Logistik CEO , Johannes Meissner .
WITSON ’ s pack pattern algorithm technology enables store order pallets to be packed at different heights in an optimal packing sequence based on the product characteristics , and store friendly logic .
The facility is huge , covering 187,000 square metres – that ’ s the equivalent of 25 rugby league fields .
Once it is operating at full capacity , the Kemps Creek ADC will service 229 New South Wales and ACT stores , with the site able to process more than four million cartons per week , the equivalent of 32 million products sold in stores .
“ Today marks a key milestone on our roadmap to enhance our supply chain and improve our operating efficiency , with a world-class facility that will deliver improved availability for our NSW customers ,” said Leah Weckert .
“ We have seen great improvements in availability for our customers in Queensland and Northern New South Wales following the opening of the Redbank ADC , and I ’ m excited to see this second ADC bring these same benefits to NSW .
“ This facility also delivers a
Coles Group CEO , Leah Weckert and Prime Minister , Anthony Albanese , had the honour of pressing the start button at the supermarket chain ’ s giant Automatic Distribution Centre . Watching on are WITRON Logistik CEO , Johannes Meissner , ( l ) and Coles Group chairman , James Graham . Photo : Kathryn Johnston .
steep change for the safety of our team , with the elimination of around 16 million kilograms of manual-handling every week .” The many WITRON and Coles staff members who were in attendance during the opening ceremony , all sported huge smiles at those words !
The Kemps Creek ADC is extremely environmentally friendly , being powered by a 3.5 megawatt ( three million watts ) solar panel system atop the vast roof system .
Also enhancing Coles ’ reputation was the announcement that in a bid to minimise food waste , edible food that isn ’ t processed at all its stores will be donated to its community partners , Foodbank and SecondBite . GJ Coles would be so proud ! NOTE : Some family , the Coles ! George and three brothers , Arthur , James and David , served in the AIF in World War I . Only George and Arthur came back home at the war ’ s end . George and four of his remaining brothers – Arthur , Frank , Edgar and Norman - were all knighted for their service to business and the community .
10 ISSUE 111 // SEPTEMBER 2024 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT