Product moves in and out of the warehouse
quickly. Each day, 18 to 20 semitrailers back
up to the loading docks to be filled with cases
of beans – up to 20,000 cans per semi. Each of
the 19 loading docks is designed to allow the
truck to be fully in place before the dock door
is opened. The warehouse stays sealed, keeping
temperatures even and maintaining product
security.
The site work also involved designing
roadways and parking to accommodate semis
delivering raw materials and taking away
finished products.
“We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback
from our shipping group,” Tolan said. “Even
though the trailers sit a bit farther away, it’s just
as efficient because of the layout and free flow
of traffic. The new layout allows our shipping
and distribution group a much better view of the
whole trucking area, of trucks coming in and
going out.”
But trucks are only part of the shipping
solution. Shipping by rail to distribution
warehouses is a major cost savings for Bush
Brothers, with each rail car capable of hauling
80,000 cans of beans – up to four times as much
as a single semi. A key component of the project
was bringing a rail spur inside the warehouse.
Before completing the project, only two rail
cars could be loaded at a time. Bush Brothers
now can load eight cars at a time, all inside the
warehouse. The company can fill up to 16 rail
cars each week.
Coordinating the rail spur construction with
the railroad was one of the most demanding
parts of the schedule; at times the rail project
schedule was in four-hour increments, Adams
said.
“It was an aggressive schedule for design
and the timing of the rail dock. But the biggest
challenge was construction – it was a very
tough winter,” Berg said. That might be an
understatement.
Summer and fall 2010 were wet, including
a 5-inch rainfall in 24 hours during the early
stages of site work. Preparing the pad for the
warehouse required significant excavation and
structural fill material to match the finish floor
elevation, Adams said; 70,000 cubic yards
of sand (mined on site) were needed for the
base, and 60,000 cubic yards of “spoils” were
regraded on site.
Then, just as construction was getting under
way, a blizzard dumped 22 inches of snow.
An early frost followed by a very cold winter
TRENDS
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