Paragon Foods is using compact live storage at its new site at Doncaster to keep control of costs in the frozen and chilled facility while accommodating future growth. Supplied by BITO Storage Systems, the new system provides compact live storage at both ends of the production process.
With the Ali Baba brand and own label frozen Halal burgers, Paragon produces 500,000 burgers a week at the new facility which are destined for grocery retailers and wholesalers nationwide.
Early planning of the facility included maximising use of the building’s space, particularly in the frozen sections which have to be constantly kept at -20°C. Paul Roberts, Paragon’s production controller explains: “To keep building and running costs under control, you don’t want those frozen areas to be bigger than they need to be.”
Paragon chose the pallet live storage to maximise the storage capacity of the stock and finished goods areas of the building, enabling a smaller volume than conventional storage. Other benefits include effective stock rotation.
Raw meat arrives at goods-in chilled as palletised loads which are then placed in live storage in a temperature-controlled area until needed. Pallet loads up to 1,250kg are fed in from one side of the storage lanes and roll slowly under gravity to the pick face on the opposite side. Four levels each hold loads up to 1,700mm high in lanes seven deep.
The pallets, when required, are collected by reach truck and taken to the temperature-controlled production area which is kept at 12°C. This area also feature separate storage for “dry goods” such as sacks of ingredients, also held on pallets but stored in push-back racking.
Once the burger production is complete and boxes of the product have been frozen, packs are queued on a conveyor until ready to palletised for storage. The palletised, finished product is then taken by reach truck to another storage area.
In total, BITO has provided more than 360 pallet live storage
