The Satellite Review Magazine The Satellite Review Magazine Vol 2 | Page 33

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By John Hinchey

VP of Sales, Westfalia Technologies, Inc.

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large segment of the food and beverage warehousing industry involves the cold storage of perishable
goods – from milk and ice cream to meat and
poultry. Cold storage facilities are expensive to operate,
considering energy costs for refrigeration, lighting and
the material handling equipment used within the facility.
Furthermore, there is an increased need for refrigeration
capacity to offset heat loads generated by this equipment.
At a time when warehouses are looking to run as lean (and
sometimes, green) as possible, this energy usage adds up to
substantial operational costs. On top of that, increasing inventory levels are exerting pressure on cold storage providers to expand their facilities, which is easier said than done
due to land availability and escalating real estate prices.
To reduce energy consumption and its associated costs,
food and beverage companies should consider implementing warehouse automation technology. Although it may
seem like a large undertaking and capital expense upfront,
an automated warehouse offers a return on investment that
can’t be beat when compared to the alternative of operating
a conventional warehouse. This is due in part to the energy
savings it provides through more efficient space utilization,
the need for fewer interior lights and the use of storage/
retrieval machines (S/RMs) outfitted with regenerative
braking. In fact, many automated warehouses experience a
40 percent reduction in overall energy costs.
With high-density automated storage and retrieval systems
(AS/RS), refrigerated and frozen food facilities can store
more product in the same, if not smaller, amount of space.
In many cases, an AS/RS can minimize the overall building

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